Past, Present, Paladin!
by Yui Sinon
Summary: Chung and his friends had decided to end the demon invasion on Elrios by going through one of the demon's main gates. Little did they know of how powerful they were, they were quickly overwhelmed and killed, leaving Chung as the sole survivor. Forced to go through a gate to try and return to Elrios, Chung was presented with another problem. He had gone back in time.
1. The Fall

"Hraaaaaaaagh!" screams Raven as he slashes at a glitter spear men, only to miss entirely. The world around them was filled with ash and brimstone. One breathe left them coughing and hacking.

"When will it end?!" Elsword screams at the top of his lungs. The Lord Knight was hopelessly trying to defend himself.

A demon sneaks behind Elsword and readies its sword. THWACK! The demon was sent away to the next hell, by Chung's Destroyer.

"I've got your back!" Chung shouts out as he hurricanes away a cluster of demons from Elsword.

"Chung!" He hears a voice scream for help and he turns his head. His face turns to terror as he sees the poor Elemental Master get swarmed and disappear in a flood of demons along with Rena.

"Aisha! Rena!" Elsword screams as he charges into the swarm.

Meanwhile, Raven was smashing demons' faces in. The Reckless Fist screaming in anger as he smashes each wave of demons again and again.

"Raven, it's only a matter of time before your mental state is destroyed. I suggest you let me take care of things for now." Eve chimes in as she notices Raven.

"I can't stop! I won't stop until all of these bastards are dead!" He shouts back as he rams through a group with his nasod arm.

"Idiot.." Eve says as she clears away hundreds upon hundreds of demons around Raven with a laser. She was concerned of how he refused to stop, even when she says his mental state is going to decline drastically. If he keeps this up, he'll become a burden to the rest of the group if he doesn't hold it. She frowns as she realizes, she'll be the one to end him if he does.

She scans around herself to find dozens upon dozens of archers aiming at her as she floated around in the air.

"W-what?!" She screams as she gets pelted with hundreds of arrows.

Raven turns around to see Eve's body falling down to the ground. "No, this can't be happening… No.. No.. No. NO. NO. NO! NO!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!" He screams as he mows through to try to catch her body. Slashing, Bashing, Thrashing, and punching his way through the mass of demons that was between him and Eve. Recklessly mowing through them while getting shot, stabbed, clawed, and slashed at by them.

Chung turns his head once more to see Eve's lifeless body on the ground, and Raven screaming angrily as he is impaled by the several hundred demons around him.

"No.." No.. This can't be. This isn't happening. My friends.. I can't save them. It's too late for me. I was… too slow. They're dieing because of me. I wasn't strong enough. Elsword is.. wait. Elsword!

Chung quickly rushes towards the growing mass of demons only to stop dead in his tracks as he sees Elsword's blade fling out of the horde and almost strike him, stabbing itself into the ash covered ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Chung screams as he drops down onto his knees. His destroyer flopping onto its side. I've… I've failed them. Tears streaming down his face as he looks around to see himself surrounded by demons. This.. This is the end for me. I can't do anything now. I'm doomed. This cruel world has taken away the people I was sworn to protect. It took away my father.

Chung slowly lifts his head to see a familiar figure looming over him. It was his father. Clad in armor as black as the shadows itself. The emotionless look on his face sent chills down Chung's spine as he raised his hand to strike Chung.

Chung's face, wide with terror, shrieked in fear as his father landed the finishing blow over the Iron paladin's body.

Darkness. A darkness loomed over him, instilling a feeling of fear and disbelief. Is it.. over? Am I dead? I can't move my limbs… I can't... feel anything anymore. I've… failed my friends. What guardian am I who fails to protect the people he was sworn to protect with his very life? I don't deserve to wield the destroyer… I don't deserve to wear Freturnier...

Chung wakes up coughing and hacking his lungs out, only to realize he was still alive. His Freiturnier was in horrible shape, not to mention what literal hell the Destroyer had gone through.

"I'm alive..?" I say as I pick myself back up. Why was I left alive? Why hadn't they finished me when they had the chance? I was as good as dead anyway. My body was aching horribly. A light-headed feeling had come over me, causing me to spew my guts out in a horrible vomit. "Ugh..." I say as I kept my hand on my stomach, grimacing in pain as I shambled over to my Destroyer, struggling to pick it back up. Using my destroyer as a support, I had limped over to the edge of the cliff. I needed to get out of here. I'll.. come back to avenge my friends and get the job done when I'm in better… health. To my surprise, past the ledge, I saw a group of lesser demons shambling through a rather small gate. The gate itself was nothing to gawk at, just a smaller variation of what my friends and I came from. Although, I might be able to get back into Elrios that way. But it might also send me to an entirely different place of existence. I had looked around earlier, but this was the only gate in sight. It was this, or going through thousands of demons searching for another one, with my guaranteed death.

"Eh… Screw it." I'd rather take my chances and get through that gate. There's no use risking my life even more trying to get back to the same gate I came from. I checked my necklace to see all three beads were full and brimming with energy. This is it. I'll be able to get past them in my current state with this…

"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!" I screamed as I unleashed my necklace, making Freiturnier entirely envelop me as I rocketed towards the gate, streaming through the line of demons. Once I made it into the gate, everything stopped. My body was just there floating in mid-air. Then, I began to fall at a rapid pace. My heart began to beat faster in faster, almost as if it were about to explode out of my chest.

Visions. I saw visions fade in and out of my mind rapidly as I fell. The time where I revoked "Seiker." until I had become stronger. The time where I met Aisha and Elsword. The time where I decided to go on my path to becoming stronger. The time when I had lost all hope and Elsword had rallied me into fighting once more. The memories sped faster and faster. The time where we decided to go through the gate to the demon world. The time when Elsword, Aisha, and Rena died. the time where Raven and Eve died. The screams of horrible agony pushing into my very soul back and forth, again and again. The cringing picture of Raven being impaled and blood spilling out of his mouth as he screamed in anger. The sword Elsword had used flinging right next to me from the swelling mass of demons that had enveloped Aisha and Rena. The look on my father's face as he had began to strike m- No. no. Stop this. Stop. Stop it now. Stop. Stop. Stop. **STOOOOOOOP!**

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" I screamed as I streamed out of the portal, bombarding everything in my way, decimating thousands upon thousands of demons.  
I had made it out.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **I'm not dead, Hurray!**


	2. An Attack on the Village

"Guys!" Aisha screams as she bursts through the door with a strong look of distress. Her breath was quick and her hands were shaking uncontrollably while clutching her staff tightly.

"Monsters are attacking the village! We need to stop them!" She screamed in fear.

"Monsters?! Let me at em!" Elsword shouted as he heaved his sword onto his shoulder while dashing out of the door, knocking Aisha to the side. Chung, Rena, Eve, and Raven quickly followed suit, rushing out of the house to the outside world.

It surprised them. The world around them was almost as if it was set aflame and a dark and gloomy tone had set in. Monsters of unimaginable appearances were swarming the village, forcing Lowe to fight for his life as he struggled to fend them off.

"About time you guys came out, I've been all alone trying to stop them!" He shouted as he clashed swords with a nearby monster. He was covered with gash marks all over his body, slowly leaking blood as he slashed away another one of them. A look of disbelief covered his face as he fell on to his knees, gasping for breathe. Another beast began to raise his weapon over the incapacitated Knight.

"Mega Slash!" The monster was quickly blown away by Elsword's strike, only to rise again onto his feet and charge headfirst towards Elsword. The blow was quickly blocked by Chung's destroyer; He screamed as he swept away the monster, away from the group. But, yet again, the monster had stood back up again, almost unharmed.

"He hasn't taken any damage at all from our attacks?!" Chung shouts out as he takes a step back, towards Elsword. He looks around the see the area around them filled with even more of these creatures. The group was frightened and hopelessly looking for an exit.

"Hey! You guys take that route over there, out to the forest!" Lowe points as he rises back up to his feet. "I'll cover you guys!" He shouts as he slashes down another monster from behind him. The group quickly retreats into the forest as Lowe is seen fending off waves and waves of monsters. Buildings quickly sped past them, as they retreated in fear.

"Jeez.. how did this happen?" Elsword says while his hands were on his legs, gasping for air.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because of that, over there?" Eve points over yonder to a small portal in the distance. From there, they saw hundreds upon hundreds of those creatures swarming out of the portal, dark specs in the distance, over the trees.

"I had seen it earlier, while we were retreating." Eve said slowly.

"A portal?!" Aisha gasps in disbelief as she sees it. Falling to her knees she says, "It's over.." Elsword quickly rushes over to Aisha and yells, "Whadya mean it's over?! It's not over until we all say it is! Don't give up until the very last moment,d'you hear me?!" Aisha stares back at Elsword in annoyance. "We didn't even scratch any of them with our attacks, how are we suppose to take them down, along with that portal?!" She stares back down at the ground, only to hear something coming from her left. A crescent-shaped wave of dark energy was speeding towards her at a rapid pace.

"Watch out!" Screams Raven as he quickly tries to push Aisha and Elsword out in time.

"Stay back!" Shouts out Chung, as he positions himself in the last moment to defend the blow. "AAAAAARGH!" He screams in pain as he is sent flying a few feet to the side. "Chung!" Elsword shouts out as he watches his comrade hit the ground with a hard thud. He unsheathes his sword and watches the figure in the distance grow more and more defined. A giant being clad in steel as black as the night, a fiery purple aura flowing out of its helmet as he shambles towards the group. A great, hulking sword, almost akin to giant heap of metal was in the hands of this behemoth, bobbing up and down menacingly as the creature slowly took step after step accompanied with a noticeable metal thunk each time its foot landed on the cold, hard ground.

"Take, this!" Rena screams as she unloads volley after volley of arrows on the steel-clad being, only to witness her attacks harmlessly bounce off as the figure stops and stares straight at her. The Iron Giant raises its sword slowly, only to quickly slam its blade down into the ground, causing tremors and sending a crescent-shaped wave of energy towards the frightened elf. Raven quickly pushes Rena out-of-the-way and receives the blast head on, sending him spiraling towards a tree helplessly as hits the trunk, shaking the tree itself and dropping hundreds of leaves on to the ground. "Raven!" Rena says as she sprints over towards her fallen comrade. "I...I'm okay." Raven says as he struggles to pick himself back up with the help of Rena.

The Iron Giant slowly shuffles towards Elsword and Aisha once again. Eve helplessly trying to figure out a solution, stands frozen in fear as she watches the giant slowly make its way towards them. Suddenly, an earthquake had somehow started, accompanied with a multitude of explosions that could be heard from the distance. Chung, who had been knocked out after the collision, woke up to see Elsword and Aisha frozen in fear as the giant stopped right in front of them.

"No! Elsword!" He screams as he lifts his hand towards his friends. The giant raises his blade, poising to strike, and begins to slam down on the two.

THUNK! The blade is stopped by a figure clad in cracked, white armor covering its entire body, along with a helmet that had furry mane billowing out of the top. It was wielding what seemed to look like a giant heap of metal, that was used to stop the attack.

"W-what?" Chung said, in shock.

The figure swung and knocked the sword out of the giant's hands easily, and spun it around and around until he formed a hurricane that sent the giant flying a few meters away. "RAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" It screamed as it ran over to pummel it again and again mercilessly, until its foe was nothing more than a mesh of metal parts strung about the forest floor. It turned towards the portal and the horde of creatures flooding out of, aimed its weapon at it, and fired a barrage of missiles.

"W-what?!" Chung gasped in surprise as the figure began to unload hell. That's.. a destroyer?! How could he have that?! And isn't that… Freiturnier?! This doesn't make sense, the only ones that had anything remotely like that was my Father and I! And the power it has… It's unbelievable! It just isn't stopping!

A great explosion rang throughout the area, making tree trunks sway back and forth, again and again. Finally, the man had stopped and turned itself towards the group, then towards the village. It began to shamble towards there, only to collapse on the spot, its weapon falling to its side. The group shambled towards the figure in disbelief as they stared at it in amazement. The sky, which was a dark red during the invasion, had quickly turned back to a deep, light blue, with the clouds quickly moving apart, letting sunlight fill the surrounding area.

"Whoa.." Elsword said, as his face lit up in surprise. Just then, a familiar voice could be heard resonating from the village. "Hey, guys!" Lowe shouted as he ran into the clearing. "I've taken care of the ones in the village, I think that explosion wiped the rest of them out, over there!" He shouted happily in glee, crossing his arms, while a look of satisfaction covered his face. "Lowe, you're alright!" Aisha shouted out gladly. "Yeah, It took me a while, but I managed to drive most of them out of the village!" Lowe said as he walked over towards the group. "Eh? Who is this?" He said, puzzled. "I don't know, but he's the one who caused the explosion." Raven answered. "I say we owe him one, after he did that!" Laughed Rena. "Yeah, I guess we do!" Aisha said as the group burst into laughter, while Eve stayed there pondering about who this fallen stranger is.

"We should haul him back into the house." Aisha said. "It's the least we can do for him, in this state."

"I agree." Raven says while he places the stranger over his shoulder. "Chung, help me out here… Chung?" Raven looks over his shoulder to see Chung staring into space. "A-Ah! Yes!" He quickly rushes over to help. "Elsword, pick up his weapon." Raven says as Chung and him slowly make it towards the village. "E-Eh?! Why do I have to do it?!" Elsword shouts back in disbelief. "What, do you expect Rena or Aisha to do it? Last time I checked, you were the one who was used to hauling a giant weapon around." Raven quickly replied. Elsword sighs in unhappiness as he places the weapon onto his back, along with his sword. "Aaack! Heavy!"


	3. Awakening and Welcoming

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I scream in fear as I wake up in bed. Wh-what?! I'm in bed? What? Was everything just a dream? I can't-

"WHAT?! IS EVERYTHING OKAY IN HERE?!" Elsword bursts out from the door, clutching his sword tightly as he searches the room. His eyes rest on me in the bed, with sweat running down my helmet. "Oh. Are you okay?" He says slowly.

"Elsword! Thank God.." I say as I wipe the sweat from my brow.

"Muh? You know me from somewhere?" He said with a confused look over his face. There's something wrong here... Elsword looks… younger. It's strange.. why does he look like tha- ARRGH! I quickly place my hands on my forehead as I grimace in pain. A ringing noise and painful sensation had started in my head. Elsword quickly ran over to me. "Hey, I'm asking if you're okay or not." He said while placing his hand on my back. The pain was growing more intense as I hunched over in the bed, groaning in pain. Then, it stopped. I remember now.. I had gone through one of the demons' portals and… I sped through and bombarded the hell out of everything. I can't even remember how I did that; It was only a fuzzy picture of me slamming my destroyer down into the ground several times and firing a bunch of missiles.

"Is everything alright in here?!" Aisha shouts out as she burst through the door with a look of worry on her face.

"A-ah. Yes." I say as I slowly made my way off the bed. Staggering towards the door. Every bone in my body was aching as if they were about to break. I had began to fall and trip when Elsword caught me and gave me support as I picked myself back up.

"You shouldn't strain yourself like that. If you break from forcing yourself through something, It's probably something you shouldn't have done at the time." He said as he helped me walk a few feet before saying, "Aaack! You're heavy as crap." Aisha quickly rushed over to help Elsword. "Take it easy." She said while they helped me walk out of the room.

"I… I think I can do it on my own now. Thanks." I said as I slowly took a few steps towards the living room. Inside I found the rest of the group, lounging around in the living room. Raven was busy talking to Rena and Eve and I was- Errr. Chung was staring into space. Did I really just mention myself as a separate person? This doesn't make sense.. If I am there.. and I am here.. then…

I thoughts quickly stopped as I turned my head towards a mirror. I was in full Freitunier. Apparently the helmet had stuck on, even after my awakening had ended. Freitunier was in bad shape, as I could see massive cracks in the plating, along with shredded bits of fur strewn about it as I realized the helmet had taken some serious damage as well. Wait. My destroyer.. where is it?! My fears had quickly gone to an end as I saw what was left of my destroyer standing up, right next to the couch.

"Guys, he's awake!" Aisha smiled gladly as the group turned their heads towards me.

"Hello." Eve chimed in.

"Taken a rest, have you?" Raven said while placing his hand on his chin.

"We're so grateful that you saved the town from those creatures!" Rena grinned widely as she clapped her hands together.

"H-Hi.." Chung said slowly.

"Why am I here?" I asked in confusion. This all seemed strange to me. Everyone seemed to looked younger than I remember and there was a younger version of me sitting down next to the table.

"Well, you passed out when you blew up those creatures. We decided it wasn't nice to leave someone on the ground so they could wake up dazed and seemingly lost." Raven replied.

"I see." I said quietly. "Thank you, I guess." I said as I pulled off my helmet and brushing my hair to the side. A look of surprise came over everyone's face.

"W-what?!" Raven said as he almost fell over.

"You're a girl?!" Aisha shouted out as her face turned red. Girl? What? Well, I DO look a bit girly with my long hair but, I don't believe I'm THAT girly.

"I… Uh." I stood there, stunned.

"A-anyways… I'm Rena." The ranger stuttered.

"I-I'm Raven. Pleased to meet you, Miss." Raven quickly bowed.

"I'm Aisha." The purple haired magician quickly grabbed my hand and shook it up and down.

"I am Eve. Queen of Nasods." Eve said in a monotonous voice.

"I-i'm.. Chung." The guardian said quietly.

"The name's Elsword." Elsword said while picking his nose. "E-elsword!" Aisha whacked Elsword on the head. "What was that for?!" Elsword yelled. "You shouldn't be doing that when you're introducing yourself!" "Why not?! I don't see anything wrong with it!" "There are a bunch of things wrong with it, you little kid!" "Little Kid? Says the one who's shorter than me, you shrimp!"

"Stop it you two." I chuckled. I remember how they used to do this all the time back then. Back then? They're doing it now… So does that mean.. I'm in the past?

"What's your name?" Rena quickly chimed in after she scowled at the two.

"A-ah.." I spouted out as she turned her head towards me. Jeez, she's still scary back then… "My name is Ch-" I quickly coughed and pretended to clear my throat. I can't use my real name. It'll be suspicious and they'll want to know what's up. I need to make a new name… Uhm… Chu? Charles? How about my last name.. Seiker? Keru? Sei… uh… Sei? Sei! "My name is Sei." I said quietly. Oh man. What if it sounded stupid to them?

"Hello, Sei. It was a pleasure meeting you." Rena smiled happily.

"Se-Sei! Wh-where are you from?" Chung quickly blurted out.

"I'm from.. Hamel." There's no hurt from saying that, right? Right?

A shocked expression came over Chung's face when he heard that. He was shaking uncontrollably as if he had seen a ghost. Frankly, I don't think he was too happy hearing that.

"I-i'm from Hamel, too..." His voice trailed off as he stood up and stepped closer to me. "What's the condition there? Is it doomed?" He quickly grabbed my hand as a worried look over his face came over him.

I cleared my throat quickly and replied, "It's been overrun with demons, now. But it isn't doomed." I said slowly.

"T-thank you… I haven't checked in a couple of months.. I was getting worried." He said while wiping the sweat from his brow.

"It'll be alright. Someday it'll be fine again." I said while slowly petting Chung's head.

"Th-thank you, Sei.." In the future, demons have taken over Hamel, but the group and I managed to take it back.. After that we went inside the gate, then.. I cringed as I passed through the recent memories. I need to get back. I can't do anything if I stay in the past like this.

"I gotta go.." I said quickly while I walked towards my beaten up Destroyer.

"Where are you going?" Raven asked. Where was I going? Surely I could just go through the portal I came from?

"I need to get to the portal the demons came out from." I said while heaving my destroyer onto my back.

"Hold on. Perhaps you should rest up before going?" Rena suggested.

"But-"

"What if there are more of those near the portal? Do you expect to defend yourself with your gear in such a mess?" Aisha butted in.

"I- uh.." They were right. I'm going to risk my life again if I go there in my current state. So I manage to get in the portal. So what? I'll die anyway when I meet more of them on the other side. It's best for me to rest up, get everything in order, then go. I'll have a better chance then, than now.

"Look. You can stay here until you're ready, okay? It's the least we can do to repay you for saving the village." Aisha smiled.

"You guys..." I sighed.


	4. The White Room

Darkness.

 **Then Light.** Bright light quickly fills my sockets, obscuring my vision entirely. I quickly raise my hand to cover my eyes. "Wha-wha..?" As my eyes slowly adjust to the random rays of light, the details of my surroundings became sharper. I was in a white room with a table and two chairs placed in the middle of it; One of the chairs was occupied by a figure. A familiar one, at that. It was a woman with black hair and heterochrony eyes. She was wearing a strange dress, with 9 lines of cloth protruding from the bottom, each with a bell tied closely to the ends. There was a black and white bow on her head, accompanied with orange earrings. I… remember now.

"Ara...? Is that you?" I question as I slowly lower my hands.

"It's a pleasure to see you again." She grinned while playing with one of the cloth tails. I… wasn't sure why she's here, with me. Did she follow me into the past? No… That couldn't be it. I swore it was only me charging out of the portal. But…

"Is there something wrong, Chung?" She said, her smile slowly disappearing.

"I- Ah.." I say while slowly taking a step back. I cleared my throat quickly. "Where am I?" I question. "Hmm~ That's a secret." Her grin quickly resurfacing. A secret? She knows where we are… but… "Chung, please tell me what's troubling you." She said while frowning. "I'm… just so confused." I said. I blink. **"Do not be confused, human. It'll only cause more suffering in the end."** I gasp as I see Eun sitting where Ara was. "E-Eun?!" I stagger and step back. The fox glares at me in concern. I quickly rub my eyes to check if I was seeing correctly.

Ara was in the seat again, sipping a cup of tea. "Would you like to join?" She offers me. I nod in confusion. I take a seat as she pours me a cup.

It was only a few minutes before she asked me, "So, what happened to everyone?" She says while taking a sip. I stop. She wants to know what happened to… them. I don't know what to tell her. I don't want her to not know this, but.. she deserves to know the truth. I start. "We… I…" I stutter uncomfortably. Sweat builds up on my face as I force myself to talk. "They're…" Damn it… Damn it! I clear my throat quickly. "We decided to go through one of the Demons' Portals to wipe them out on the other side.." I stop. I felt the lump in my throat holding down my words. "Oh? Were you guys successful?" She says while putting down her cup. "N-no… Everyone is…" Just say it. Please just get it over with… "Everyone is… g-gone." My eyes look down towards the table. I don't want to see the look on her face… "I've… failed them." I look back up. Eun was in the seat once again, with her arms crossed. She was staring down at the table. **"That so…"** She looks back up and stares right through me. **"I was hoping the Red One would've made it out. But no, it was the guardian of said Red One."** she smirks, revealing one of her fangs. I stop. She's back… What is this? I was talking to Ara only a few seconds ago… I blink. Ara is back on the chair, frowning. "Chung, you're going to go back and finish the job, right..?" She questions slowly. That was what I planned but… "Y-yes.." "You better! Finish the job and stay alive for me! Or else I won't know what to do with myself if I find out all of my friends died in vain!" She's… surprisingly determined to make me continue..

I hear a knock. I quickly looked around the room. I see a door fade into existence as the knocking sound resonated once again. "It seems like it's your time to go." She smiled as I look back towards her. "Don't worry. We'll meet again." She waved goodbye. I grinned lightly as I sat up and stepped towards the door. I grabbed the knob tightly and twisted. I pulled open the door.

A dim light flooded my sockets as I wake up. I was in my room. I hear someone knock on my door again. "Sei! Get up! It's time for breakfast!" shouted a girly voice. "A-Ah! Yes! Give me a minute!" I rushed as I clawed the air on the floor right next to my bed. What? Why am I looking for Freiturnier? It's just breakfast, not an army. I sighed as I faced the mirror next to my bed. I was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt with baggy shorts. Good enough. I shrugged and opened the door. I peered into the hallway and caught of glimpse of something purple disappearing from the living room, Aisha. I shamble into the living room and see my worn out Freiturnier and Destroyer in the corner, still in bad condition. I should probably get those mended today… As I walked through the living room and near the entrance of the dining room, my foot tapped something. Something Hard. I turn to the side to see my helmet on the floor. Why would this be here? As I bent over to pick it back up, I heard something hit the floor and shatter. I turn around to see Aisha next to a shattered ceramic cup. "Morning… All?" I said slowly. She was shocked to see me, for some odd reason. Rena was gently patting Aisha on the head, whispering something, "Don't worry. Once you get taller, you can have that." My eyes drifted over to see Raven averting his gaze, along with Elsword staring at Aisha while chewing his food, and a very shocked and blushing Chung staring at me. I quickly reached into my shorts pocket and pulled out a thick glove to pick up the shattered ceramic. "A-ah. Let me help you with that, Sei." said Rena while she stooped down to pick up the pieces with me.

I sat down at the table and peered down at my platter. My eyes opened wide. It's… It's… Pancakes! I quickly picked up my fork and began to devastate the enemy. By chowing down on it until nothing was left, I sighed gladly as I used a napkin to wipe food away from my face. "Thank you, for the meal." I said, looking around the table. "S-so… fast." Raven said, in shock. "The poor pancakes never had a chance…" Chung sobbed quietly. I looked over to my side. "You're welcome." Aisha said while frantically holding an angry Elsword down. "H-hey! You should've let me have some, damn it! I'll kill you! I will kill you! I'll do it! I mean it!" he shouted angrily. "Elsword, not everything is made for you, you spoiled little brat!" I chuckled lightly after hearing this.

I quickly picked up my pack next to the door, shoving my broken Freiturnier into it quickly as I heaved my Destroyer onto my back. "I'm going out to get these fixed." I shouted out as I opened the door and put on a pair of sandals I had in my pack. "Mmkay." Aisha replied while doing her homework next to a shocked Elsword, clutching his pencil in fear as he stared down at his paper. I stepped out into Ruben. The town was as it had always ever been. A small village, with only a handful of houses. One of which had Ann, the local shopkeeper. As I walked down the path, over to her, I caught her eye. "Well, Heeello!~" She shouted out, waving her hand around. "Would you be interested in my wares, miss?" She said, as she saw me eyeing her store. Miss? Oh come on… "I.. Err. Yes. I'd like you to do something for me." I said, while stopping a few feet in front of her. "Could you, mend my gear, for me?" I smiled. "Well, of course I will. But it'll cost you." She chuckled as I handed over my Freiturnier and Destroyer. Her smile quickly faded as she realized what she had been given. "This is..." A look of worry had come over her. "This is… yours?" Ann asked slowly. I nodded. "I've never seen anything quite like this… It's just like that kid's, but… more advanced!" She gawked at it with wide eyes. "Y-yeah. I had to put a lot of effort into getting that." You're damn right I did. I literally had to blow up a battle field, 20 times, to get that. "I-I'll get to repairing this, right away!" She said while rushing into her store to get supplies. The noise of birds chirping and leaves blowing in the wind were the only things I heard after that, besides that, it was complete silence. I looked up at the sky, to see the clouds slowly move west. After this, i'll-

My thoughts quickly stopped as I heard a cackling echo throughout Ruben. It was… familiar to say the least. I quickly looked around to see nothing out of the ordinary. Was I hearing correctly? That sounds like… him. It couldn't be him. He shouldn't have known that I was here. I left no trace of myself back in the Demon World, much less the portal. Then, I heard a cracking sound. No, a tearing sound. I quickly look to my side to see something abnormal. A crack in the air, no, a crack in reality, no again, a crack in.. space-time? The crack was getting larger and larger. I could hear a familiar voice resonating from within it. "Hahahahaha… Hahahahaah…" A piece of the invisible wall shatters to show a spiraling vortex and a figure reaching out to me. A man with black sclera, and an insane grin on his face. "I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU! KHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"


	5. Insanity Welcomes Repair Runs

Add. It had been a year since I last saw him. He had managed to figure out a "method" to his problem. Little did we know that he had figured out a way to jump through time, until we had last seen him hopping through a crack in reality, along with a pongo shouting out that some valuable research materials have been stolen. The crack had quickly closed, only leaving one of his dynamos stuck into the ground. But...

He had changed since then. He had become somehow… more unstable. I don't know. He just seemed a bit less "insane but slightly stable" to a full-blown lunatic. His appearance had changed greatly after the year of his absence, his pendant merged into his suit, and had three tail like diamond bead things rather than only a single tail. His hair had grown more wild and messy, his grin was wider, and he laughed more constantly as he stepped out of the crack.

"Khahahaha..." He cackled as he looked around. His gaze stops as he passes over me. "My My… My… My… Haven't you changed quite a bit since I last saw you?" He looks at me with his trademark wide grin. "Time Line Accuracy: 98.41%" One of his dynamos rings with a monotonous voice. "Perfect. It truly is the original! Khahaahaha!" He steps closer. I step back. "After countless months of traversing through timelines, I am finally back here!" He says, mockingly. His grin fades immediately as one of his dynamos announces, "Error. Time line is not in sync with correct time-skip." "What?!" He says while turning towards the dynamo. "That couldn't be true! If that's true, then why am I seeing one of my 'comrades' right here?!" He shouts in annoyance. "Unless..." He faces towards me, once again. He grins as he says, "Come over here… Khahahahaa!" He beckons towards me. I take a step back, once again. "Don't be shy… Just think about how much work I've put in to come back!" He cackled as he flings one of his dynamos towards me. I roll out-of-the-way as the dynamo speeds towards me, misses, and comes back to Add. "Come on.." He mumbles as he sends another one towards me. I roll again. "Come on.. Come on.. Come on.. Come on. Come on! COME ON. COME ON!" He yells as he sends all of his dynamos, one by one, in a rapid succession towards me. I roll away from the first one, then the next one, then the next one, then the one after that, then the on-

"KHAHAHAHAHAAHA!" He cackled as he tackled to me to the ground, holding me down by one his hands on my neck. "I've got you.. Now don't you struggle, now!" He grins. "Now.. what are you supposed to be here, for?" I stare at him in fear. "COME ON. DON'T HOLD BACK, KHAHAHA!" He yells as he slams me into the ground, again and again. "Tell me, now, or I'l-" He is interrupted by the sound of screaming coming from the north of him. Ann walks out of her store to see Add holding me down, by the neck. "Why you…" He glares angrily at the witness, softening his grip on my throat.

Aha. Perfect timing. I howl out in anger and see Add fling off me and fly a few feet back. He was kneeling down, placing his hands over his ears in pain. "Nnnngh! Stop that incessant howling!" He shouts out. I stop and hold my throat in pain as it began to hurt more and more after the repeated stress. Damn it… I can't keep it up, from here. I look over to see Ann, cowering in fear behind her stall. There's no chance she'll be able to help me… damn. I turn back quickly to see Add towering over me, grinning widely as he leans over. "Now… Now… Now…" He mumbles in triumph. "Could you tell me, what this is?" He raises a pendant, jingling it by the chain. I gasped as I saw it. It was my pendant that went missing just before Add disappeared. I was given it, right before my father set off to fight the demons. Add must've stolen it. "It's... the pendant... you stole." my voice trails off. "Just as I expected." He gloated. "The only way for me to make sure it was You, was to show you this."

"Tell me, 'friend.' What are you doing here, in the past?" He questioned. "And where are the others? I could've sworn they would be out to save you, by now-" "THEY'RE DEAD!" I blurted out. "They're what?" His grin disappearing. "They… They… died when we crossed a demon portal to the other side. We were overwhelmed! I couldn't… I couldn't…" My voice trailed off as I went through the memory a third time. A shocked look came over him, as he straightened himself. "I see…" his mouth left wide open. "YAAAAAAAARGH!" A shout could be heard nearby. Add turns his head to see a red-haired child charging towards him, sword ready to swing. "Mega Slash!" Elsword shouts out as his blade collides with Add's 'torso', sending the shocked lunatic tumbling down the small incline between the store and the road. Elsword lowers a helping hand and helps me back up onto my feet. "Thanks…" I mumble slowly. I look over to see Add back up on his feet, staring down at the ground solemnly. He turns and walks off with his dynamos, into the forest.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!" Elsword shouts, waving his sword around angrily like a cane. I see Chung run over to me, clutching his destroyer tightly. "Are you okay, Sei? Are you hurt?" He says while frantically examining me. "I'm fine." I say as I pat him on the head. "Elsword convinced me to follow you with h-" Chung was quickly stopped by Elsword's noogie. "Keep quiet, you!" "H-he was suspicious of you, and thought you w-were up to something!" Chung stutters while baring the pain.

I look over to my side to see something purple. Upon further inspection, I found out that it was one of Add's dynamos, just lying there on the ground. I pick it up to look at it further. It didn't seem to follow Add when he left, just seemingly lying there instead. That's when it hit me. It must've been damaged slightly by Elsword's Mega Slash. Add wouldn't have been so idle as to have something strike him, full force. He knew how weak the group was, in the past, scheming to only use this dynamo to block any incoming attacks. Perhaps he underestimated Elsword, as he had been sent tumbling down the incline after the impact. I've always thought of him as a Mastermind, not a Lunatic, since I always found him scheming about possibly occurrences, back then. Realistic ones, mind you.

"Muh? What's that thing?" Elsword says as he sees the small purple and white object in my hand. "N-nothing!" I say as I quickly tuck it away into my pants pocket. "U-uhm… Is it over, yet?" A small, scared voice chimes in from behind me. It was Ann, popping her head out from the stall. "Yes, yes it is." I chuckled. "Good. I was thinking I would have to carry these things into the storage, since it didn't look like you were getting out of that one. Uhm. Have I mentioned how heavy these things are?" She said while heaving a mended Freiturnier and Destroyer towards me. I quickly realize that both had turned a tad bit grey since I last passed them to Ann. "I.. uhm. Didn't know what materials you used to make these 'things' of yours… So I just used some reinforced steel to mend the broken bits."  
She says while putting her hand on the back of her head. "It's fine." I smiled back.

"O-oh, ah, Also. The fee for the repair is 68,821 ED." Elsword's eyes pop out in shock as he hears the number. "68 thousand ED?! That's ridiculous!" He gasps as he falls backwards. I look towards Elsword and back to Ann. "It's not that much." I say as I throw over a large bag of coins. "It was a pleasure." Ann smiles as she happily skips into her store. "It's not that much?!" Elsword says as he staggers backwards while trying to get back onto his feet.


	6. Insanity At Work

What… How could this happen? The core… no, all of my friends are gone. No-one to come back to.. What is this feeling in my chest? I grab my chest and place my other hand on a nearby tree trunk. This… feeling. I've felt this before… but where? I punch the tree trunk. NNNGH! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?! How could I let one of my prime targets get destroyed along with my comrades?! Although I had managed to cross time and space, I hadn't been able to get my hands on Eve. Besides that, my friends are DEAD! NNRGH! I slam my fist against the tree trunk once again.

"NNRRRRAAAAAAAAGH!" I scream loudly as I throw myself towards a tree. I tackle through the mess of trees, one by one, in a straight line as I scream louder and louder. "Particle Acceleration!" I shout out as I laid waste to the forest in front of me. I'm not satisfied with this. I'm not satisfied with this. I'M NOT SATISFIED WITH THIS. I'M NOT SATISFIED WITH THIS! "AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!" I shout out even louder than before as I charge forward, slamming my dynamo into the trees to my side. Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT… DAMN IT! "Why did you have to die?!" I scream out in anger. "My core!" "My friends!" I kneel down, hands on my hand, in anger. "Nnngh! M-my.. c-co- fr-friends..." The feeling had become unbearable. It had finally hit me. There, at that very moment, appeared vision of my family getting slaughtered, my mother saving me from my death, as she had taken my place instead. This was the very same feeling from before. Because of the path I had taken, I was unable to change my past, as I was unable to change the future as well. It was impossible to change the past, since I had not the coordinates before the event that destroyed my life, had occurred. I had also failed to stop the future, since I had been long gone, before they died… If only I had come back, sooner! I slam my fist into the ground angrily again and again.

Wait! Wait! I'm in the right timeline, but my placement was a bit off! I can prevent them from dieing! I can stop their deaths! But, that also means the Queen's Core is still intact! I grin, but quickly stop. What am I thinking?! It may give me the power to create 10 altera cores, but it won't give me the correct coordinates! But, perhaps It may be of use afterwards. Wait, again! I need to stop them from dieing! But wait, again! I am misplaced in time! I am still here! I wouldn't be able to stay here, at all! I began to shamble through a clearing. Wait! Perhaps if I alter these set coordinates, I'll be able to step ahead a few years! No, again! The other me is still going to be there! Is this such a lost cause?! No! I wasn't back, by then! I can still come back! I grin, without noticing that my sclera had turned back to normal.

I stare up at the holographic control panel I had built into the Time Tracer pendant that had merged into my suit's torso. I began reprogramming my pendant to memorize the current timeline as a set point, through A, B, C, X, Y, and Z. A was set as the current day, B was the current month, C to the current year, X to the current timeline number (1, for most likely being the one that I had come from. 98% was the best percentage I had gotten in months, and i'm not willing to waste any more time, hopping through more timelines.), Y to the current coordinates of my current area, and finally Z, which was set to the current dimensional boundary. Then, I opened up the point details to edit a few specifications.

"Let's see..." I mumbled to myself. A year, was it? No, it was 2 years, 3? Perhaps it was only a few months? I frowned as I struggled to remember how long I had been out. Not to mention how I hadn't bothered to count my age or birthdays in quite a while, complicating things even further. Wait, that Elsword looked quite young.. perhaps… It had been 3? Nnngh! I crossed my arms in annoyance. Last time I saw the group before they perished, they were preparing to head off to Hamel, to fight some creatures, or so. If I am correct, then they must have perished because of them. Not that I had ever underestimated their fighting abilities, but the said creatures must have been quite strong to wipe up the entire group in one sitting. What was it, Chung said? They crossed one of the demon's main gates and perished on the other side? If I remember correctly, If I overshoot the specifications, I could risk myself to the very same fiends who may have already have destroyed Hamel by that point. If I undershoot it, though, If this is truly the correct timeline, Nothing will be there to try and demolish me! Brilliant!

I quickly applied the changes, setting 'C' a year ahead. I smirk as I close the control panel. I raise my hand towards a tree. "Activate Time Break!" My dynamos swarmed the area in front of me and began swirling in a circle pattern. A purple electric field began to form inside. All is well, I grinned in satisfaction. The field became more violent, as it began to spark more and more frequently. The dynamos began to shake slightly as they began to activate the Time Break Systems. The purple field quickly burst, sending my dynamos in all directions. W-what?! Nnngh. Again! I ordered my dynamos to regroup once more. "ACTIVATE TIME BREAK!" I yell out. Once again, the dynamos form a circle. And once more, a purple field of electricity fades back in. The dynamos begin to spin slowly, gaining more speed as time passes. Perfect, all I have to do is wait and… "CHHRRRRRRRRRK!" The field bursts more violently as it flung my dynamos towards the ground, shallowly planting them into the earth. Hmmmrgh! I grumble as I order my dynamos to regroup, but to no avail. They worked perfectly, when I was traversing through time a few weeks ago! What could possibly be happening now? "REGROUP!" I shout in annoyance, my dynamos slowly digging themselves out of the ground and lazily hovering back towards me.

"Alert! Dynamo Damage Sustained: 60.54% Repairs needed." It said in a monotonous voice.

"Error found. (1) Dynamo is missing out of (6). Action: Time Break is now unusable until regroup."

A missing dynamo?! Of course. Without all 6, it won't be able to perform Time Break. But where could it be? Ah, yes. I used one to take a full force attack from that Elsword. Apparently It hadn't come with me, when I walked off. I just need to find my way back and…

I quickly warped back to Ruben with a single hand motion. I looked around to see not a single thing resembling my dynamo… "If one of them picked it up..." I placed my hand onto my face and groaned in disappointment. Of course, this would be easy if I didn't regard that if I kill any of them, I am going to mess up the timeline. I'm somehow going to need to- Wait. What's that red thing? I turn my head to see the group exiting Ruben and walking towards Elder. That's them! This is going to be easier, than I had anticipated. "Khahahaha." I chuckled to myself as I began my pursuit.


	7. Ambush

The sun was slowly setting down the horizon as the group shambled through the long winding forest. "Uuuugh, does it normally take this much time to get to Elder?" Aisha complained in annoyance. "Quit your whining, we're almost there, I can feel it." Elsword says while glaring at Aisha. "I think we're lost." She moaned, dragging her feet in the ground. "We've gone off the trail quite some time ago, are you sure we're going the right way, Elsword?" Raven questioned doubtingly. "I've detected that we've gone off track for 4 hours." Eve said in a monotonous tone. "S-shut it!" Elsword barked back. "Guys. Please. Could I lead? I've been from Ruben to Elder a few times more than I can count." I asked hoping that he would let me. "Nnnngh! Fine!"Elsword pouted in defeat as he slowed down and let me go forward to lead.

"It's getting quite dark, now." We've wasted a bit too much time. I was certain they would know their way even back then. Perhaps it was by chance the first time. "We should set up camp for the night." Rena suggested. "Yes. Yes! My legs are tired!" "So are mine." "Mhm." We kept walking until we found a small clearing in the forest. Shortly afterwards,Elsword began collecting sticks to make a fire. I placed my destroyer near the bundle, and took a seat. Hrmm. I could've sworn we made it to Elder way before the sun had set. Perhaps Add and I appearing out of nowhere disrupted the flow, slightly? I stared at the setting sun, lost in thought as Elsword threw in the last few sticks into the bundle. He began to rub two sticks together quickly while looking up to the setting sun.

It had been an hour or two, and Elsword was still struggling to start the fire. "Elsword, Hurry up! It's getting dark!" Aisha yelled angrily. "I'm… trying! Nnngah!" Elsword quickly threw the sticks into the pile in anger. "Flame Geyser!" He screamed out while a fire erupted the area that he had struck with his sword. He stared down at the fire in triumph and quickly looked around to see Chung and I sitting on our destroyers. "Hey! No fair! We don't get seats!" He waved his fist around angrily. Elsword turned his head to see that Rena, Aisha, and Raven had taken a seat on a nearby fallen tree trunk. "HEY!" He shouted even louder. "Hmmph." He pouted as he sat down with Chung and Eve. Not that I'm jealous that the others have other people with them, but I seemed to be the odd one out, without anyone else sitting with me. Back when we were together, the group casually fought to see who gets the two other seating spots on my destroyer, usually by pushing or shoving. Occasionally, Elsword and Aisha would resort the fighting, but… Rena scowled at them when they did. Things are pretty quiet now. Perhaps I could break the silence. "What...? You guys don't like me?" I pretended to look away from the group. "A-Ah! Nonono! We like you, it's just that..." Rena waved her hands in front of her, frantically trying to find an answer. "It's only been a few… err… days since we last met you. We're still trying to warm up to y-you, is all. Haha..." Aisha said slowly. "Perhaps I should just go back and find that portal those creatures came from." I said, while pretending to be offended. "N-no no! We enjoy your company!" Chung stuttered. "Right guys?" He looked around frantically. Elsword kept quiet while Raven nodded slowly. I chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't be leaving too soon."

"Is that so?" A voice rang out from behind me. "Wha-?!" I quickly sat up from my destroyer. "Who are you?! Show yourself!" I said while quickly picking up my destroyer from the ground and aiming it towards the voice. I looked back to see Chung falling back from his destroyer and fumbling to pick up it up while Eve stood up to get out of his way. Elsword hadn't unsheathed his sword as of yet, and seemingly only put on an angry face instead. Raven had unsheathed his sword, Aisha had dropped the book she was reading and was struggling to find where she had misplaced her staff, and Rena had already readied her bow. I look forward to see a man's face right in front of mine. "Good Evening." Add grinned mockingly. I yelped as I staggered backwards. "A-add?!" I said in shock. I blinked and see that he had disappeared, only to have heard a scream from behind me. I looked to see Add right behind the fire. "I believe some of you have something that I want." He grinned. "E-eh?! We didn't take anything from you!" Aisha stuttered. "Oh? But you did." Add said while walking towards me. "My Dynamo. Give it to me." He said while raising his hand towards me. I stepped back, poising my destroyer to strike. "Oh? Come on. What are friends for? Friend?" He said mockingly. "Friend?" Chung said in confusion. "Fr-friend?! You almost tried to kill me!" I yelled back in anger. "Oh? That was because I needed answers. Right now, I need my dynamo. Perhaps Eve's Core, too." He said while glancing at Eve and warping a few feet towards me. I glared at him in anger as I began to slam my destroyer into the ground where he seemingly disappeared from at the last second. "H-huh?!" I gasped while checking my surroundings. "Behind you!" I hear Rena shout out as I turn around to see Add poising to strike me with an electric shock from his dynamos. Then, I heard another voice to my side. "Mega Slash!" Elsword screamed out as he jumped towards the Diabolic Esper. "Not this time, brat!" Add screamed out while moving his hand towards Elsword. A purple prism appeared, trapping Elsword inside. "Hey!" He said while looking around, inside the prism. I spin my destroyer around to hit Add, only to have missed entirely as he had warped out-of-the-way once again.

Add appeared once again, only this time, to the side. He raised his hand once again, only to stop and move out-of-the-way of Raven's blade. He tightened his fist angrily. "Annoying..." He grumbled to himself. Aisha quickly rushed to the prism that had entrapped Elsword. "H-hold on! I'll get you out!" She yelled out, only to have the prism shock her hand whilst she was getting near it. "Where do you think you're going?" Add warped beside Aisha, once again, poised to attack. I quickly swung my destroyer at Add, only to miss once again but shatter Elsword's prison. I look behind me quickly to see Add begin to attack, only to get struck by one of Eve's energy balls. "Nnngh! God damn it! Stop that!" He yells out while kicking with his feet, sending a beam of energy towards Eve, only to have it barely blocked by Chung's destroyer. He raises his hand into the air in anger. "Nnngh! I wouldn't care less if I killed all of you at this point!" He screamed out, his sclera quickly turning black once again. A sphere of purple hexagons envelope Add, circling him constantly as they collect energy from his dynamo.

"Parano-" He is quickly cut off by a line of fire cutting through the area between him and the group. "Wh-what?!" He says in shock. "Look! Over there! I see something glowing!" Rena shouted out. I look over, past the horizon to see the familiar glow of fire, only a few hundred feet away. "Quick! We need to check it out! I think Elder is being attacked!" Aisha yelled out in fear as we hurried towards Elder, with Add trailing us.


	8. Colossal Skirmish

Ash and fire. Enough to make you choke just like as if you were in hell itself, once again. Soldiers were frantically running about as if they were chickens that had been spooked by a nearby predator. Children and families were screaming in despair as their friends and neighbors were slaughtered by the endless onslaught of creatures that laid waste to Elder. All of these were reminiscent of how Hamel had fallen, and how my father had commanded every single action that took place there. I look around in despair as buildings collapsed as they were set aflame, slowly turning into ashes as demons stormed passed them, charging towards the fleeing soldiers and guards that were held up at Elder.

"No..." I say while stepping back. I look to my side, to see the others in despair and dishearten at the event. My gaze stops on Chung, the person who I was such a long time ago, and I stare down back at me, the person who I am now. He was frozen in fear as he gazed at the falling kingdom that had reminded him of how his country had fallen to the hands of the same beasts. But, there's a difference now. I'm different. I'm not the same coward who watches his own country fall. I'm not the same coward who wishes for his father to return to his side, and make things all right. I've made it far, but not alone. I've made it to where I am now, through the help of Elsword and my friends. I will not sit idly while I see another place fall, their families burning alive and getting impaled by the troops' weapons. I clutch my destroyer tightly as I stare down at my necklace. All three beads were full, once more; Full of the spirit I own, to fight with courage and walk through redemption. I step a step forward, taking a stance with my destroyer. I look back to see the others staring at me in surprise. "Sei! What are you doing!" Chung yells out in fear as he sees the determination and courage in my eyes. There's nothing that will stop me now. I am the Iron Paladin. I sought out the road my father had taken such a long time ago. I will prevail. I will protect.

I charge into the fire and brimstone of Elder, swinging and blasting my destroyer haphazardly as I destroy demons from my left and right. My eyes catch a glimpse of a red-headed child charging in behind me. He swings and strikes a demon to my left. "Elsword! You Idiot! Get back here!" Aisha yelled out in anger as she watches the knight cleave down another one. "Shut up! I'm not going to stand and watch while one of my comrades takes all the glory for himself!" He says angrily while a red aura begins to develop him. "I swore one day, that I will surpass my sister! I won't be doing that if I just sit idly by, will I!" He screams back while sending a wave of energy towards another demon. "Elsword..." I mumble to myself in shock. I hear noise behind me. I turn around the see that Raven and Eve had followed suit as well. "Don't let your guard down!" Raven shouts out while he claws a nearby demon. A small, dense electric aura surrounds him, accompanied with a nasod core popping out of his hand. Rena rushes in as while, firing a barrage of arrows in the midst. "R-rena?! You too?! Uuugh.." Aisha shouts out in shock as she rushes in afterwards. Chung is left, still frozen in fear as he sees his friends fending off the demons. He shuts his eyes for a few seconds, then quickly opens them up again with a new spark of courage noticeable within him.

The enemies quickly lessened as we made our way into Elder. As we made our way, we saw Banthus hauling some of his bandits away on his back. "Hey! You! Where's the El?!" Elsword shouts out. "The El? Those damn creatures took it!" He shouted back. "You! Help any civilians out, don't you have any honor?!" I shout back in anger as I see a shocked Banthus stare back at me. "Y-yeah… I would if I didn't have these guys on my back…" He says while averting his gaze. I throw a box towards him. "E-eh? Potions?" He says while opening the box, a stupefied look covering his face. "Holy El! These are high quality!" He says in shock. "Give these to your men, and tell them to help rescue the civilians!" I shout back. "If you don't, I'll gladly come over and kill you myself!" I glared at him while he fumbled around to put the potions glasses up to his comrade's faces. "Playing the good guy, yet again, eh?" I hear a voice from behind me. It was Add. "A-add?! You're following me once again?!" I shout back in disbelief. "Don't get the wrong idea! Khahaha! Seems like the two of us messed a few things up by being here, and I'm interested to see how this goes!" He cackled while swiping away two demons from behind. "Perhaps you're not so bad, after all." I mumble to myself while I charge forward after the group and deeper into Elder.

They were doing fairly well, considering that they told me they had had trouble with the ones that attacked from the portal. "Sei! There you are!" Elsword shouted out. "Quick, help us break down this big door!" Raven shouts out while banging on the door with his claw. "Mega Drill Break!" He shouts out while he lands two hits with his sword, and finally a drill attack from his nasod hand. "Illusion Stinger!" Eve shouts out while two nasod blades appear out of nowhere and pierce the door. "Lightning Bolt!" The purple haired magician shouts out while several bolts of lightning appear from her hand. "Phoenix Strike!" Rena shouts out while a literal phoenix is shot of her bow and tackles the large, steel door. "Scare Chase!" Chung shouts out as he fires a missile from his destroyer. "Unlimited Blade!" The knight shouts out in anger as he carves and cuts the door almost endlessly and finishes off with one strong, solid blow. "It's not down yet?!" He shouts out in anger. "Artillery Nova!" I scream out as I charge up my destroyer, and release it, creating a large blast of energy that was sent flying towards the door. It explodes, but to no avail, the giant, metal door hadn't opened yet. "W-what?!" I shout out in surprise. "That's impossible!" "Impossible, eh? Kukukuku. Gravity Buster!" I could hear Add's voice from far behind me, into the smoke as I see a purple ball of energy hurl towards the door, blasting it wide open.

The inside was something strange. I had never seen this before ever in my expeditions with Elsword and the others back then. I never knew Wally had such a room. It was Blue. No- more of a darker blue that what you would expect. There laid in the middle of it, was a man clad in red and black armor- Helputt, my corrupted father. I look back at Chung to see him on his knees in fear as he stared at him. "Chu-chung?! Are you okay?!" Rena shouted back, trying to help his friend up. "F-father…" He murmurs solemnly as he lowers his head. "That man is your father?!" Raven shouts back as he turns his head towards Chung in surprise. "What do you think you're doing?! Stand up and fight for what's right in the world!" I shout back in anger. "Your father will turn back to normal once we defeat him! I know it! It's now or never!" I say while readying my destroyer. "But… last time, he almost killed me… but he killed everyone else… I don't want to… die…" Chung said in defeat. "I suggest we retreat for now. I estimate that a country destroyer and the power signatures I'm reading from him are stronger than what we could ever hope to carry out." Eve says in doubt. "Rrrgh!" I growl back at her. "Screw your estimate! Alright, hide behind your petty calculations, but you can't take back these facts!" I shout out. "These enemies you have taken down, you were struggling to even dent them back in Ruben! Look how far your powers have grown since then! Each passing moment, day, and month, you grow stronger because of your desires! Do not let anything stop you in your midst to deter you from what you think is rightfully so!" I say while turning back towards Helputt. "Father! You may not be the father from my time, but I will stop you even sooner in this new past of mine!" I shout out, throwing away all fears of the present that I had come from. "F-father..?" Chung mumbles while raising his head.

"Rrrrraaaaaaargh!" I scream out as I charge towards Helputt in utter determination. I quickly realize that the third bead of my necklace had cracked, and was pouring out energy by the dozen as I charged forward, sending my power into a violent flux. We slammed our destroyers together again, and again, testing each other's skill. I slammed my own into Helputt's very chest, staggering him a few feet backwards. "Sudden Burster!" I shout out as I fire a few rounds from my destroyer. Helputt quickly brushes it off as he positions himself for Scare Chase, sending a giant, red missile rocketing towards me. I immediately switch into a guarding position as it gets closer and closer. But, the explosion had not happened moments after. "Keep your head up high, Chung. That's what you kept annoying me about the most, back then." I hear a voice from in front of me. Add smirked as he created a portal that engulfed the red missile entirely. "Add…" I say out loud as I switch stances. "What's the matter partner, scared?" He cackled as he looked back at me, taking the dynamo I had thrown at him afterwards. I scream as I charge forward once again, smashing Helputt in the helmet. "Lunatic Blow!" I shout out as I smash my destroyer into him again and again in a fit of anger. "Gravity Buster!" The Diabolic Esper shouts out while Helputt struggles to get back on his feet. He finally gets up, and begins to howl, stunning Add and I. "Nnnngh!" We both screamed out as we endured the ear-wrenching pain in full. He whirlwinds his destroyer towards me, sending me flying a few feet over. I get up, and begin to howl, as he had done. "Raaaaaaaaaaaargh!" I scream out as I let waves and waves of energy surge out of me, through the sound waves, pushing him back further and further. "Particle Accelerator!" Add shouts out while he blasts Helputt back towards me. He struggles in pain as he lugs his destroyer back up. I leap towards him, sending him spiraling in the air as I land. "This is it," I shout out as I jumped on top of him, mid-air. "Doom Strike!" I scream out in triumph as I jump up and slam him into the ground, then once again, I jump up and slam into him, unleashing a wave of El energy from my destroyer and into the ground, creating a massive swirling vortex that encircled us, that then exploded afterwards.

Helputt was left there, in the middle of the massive crater I had made, dark energy slowly flowing out him as his armor began to shine whiter and whiter. "Man, what a nice family reunion." Add joked. The group ran into towards us, cheering on and on. "Wow, that was amazing Sei!" Aisha cheered. "Quite the performance." Eve said, putting her hands together. "That was pretty cool!" Elsword said, sheathing his sword. "Perhaps it was a bad idea not to trust you, afterall." Raven said, nodding towards me. Rena came with Chung, patting his back slowly as he walked towards me. "Y-you.. called my father, 'Father.' W-what do you mean?" He said in confusion. I looked towards Add, only to see him nodding. "Well…" I trailed off while taking a step closer to Chung. "Me and him…" I say while pointing towards Add. "We're not from your time." I say slowly. "What?" The others question in unison. "I'll explain it in full, later. Let's just get out of here, first." I say while stepping out of the entrance to the blue room. I'm quite relieved to be able to tell them this, but what will happen to-

My train of thought stops as everything I could see fades away entirely, leaving nothing but darkness in my field of view.

 **Darkness.**


	9. From Future To Past

Darkness.

It's so dark… why? What happened? Did I die? No, I couldn't have… my wounds weren't that bad… I could stand up. I could walk out of there. Why did I collapse? Did something happen that I wasn't aware of? Dozens of thoughts raced past my mind as I drifted slowly in the abyss. Why hadn't the light come for me, yet? Why hadn't… _she_ … come for me yet? We would meet again, she said… Please, Ara. I want to wake up. I want to tell them… I've done the deed, am I not right? I fulfilled my promise… what's keeping you back from snatching me up? Perhaps… that wasn't what she meant at all.

"Finish the job, okay?" A vision of her face pops in as her words ring inside my mind. Finish the job… No. She couldn't have meant that- did she? She wants me to go back to the present and… go back there. Back to the molten hell where the others died in my place. Back to the fiery chasm of demons and devils that I had failed to keep up with. They… died in my place. Surely- the others would want to me to live? Would they? I mean- would they, after what I did to them? I sat there while they died right in front of me. I hadn't… grown up after all. I'm still the coward that stands, frozen in fear…

Tears race past my cheek as I come to my blunt realization. I'm still the child I was back in the beginning… when Elsword had come to my aid. A sniveling child full of despair as bad things, no- horrible things happened right in front of him, completely helpless to fear itself. But, I swear on my life- I changed. The things I've done right before I had passed out, I've seen it myself- my past self had struggled to even look up to the challenge that was placed right in front of us, while I rushed in to finish the job. I wipe off the tears streaming down my face. What had I to fear- sure, what had killed the others. Sure- what almost had killed me itself. I have to try- for her. For Ara. No- for _them_.

As Chung fades away in the darkness, a figure could be seen staring down at him. She smirks as she turns away and walks towards the light in the horizon.

"Hmm~ Hmm. You've grown quite a lot. A lot more than how I would've grown if I was still here. Perhaps you're changing after all." The figure smirks as she walks to a door, almost floating in the middle of the dark abyss. She opens the door, it to show a blinding light that shone throughout the darkness as she steps in and disappears, leaving the door wide open in its wake.

I awoke to a dim light. I was in a room of some sort- a wooden one sparsely decorated with a mirror, a table accompanied with a chair, a window, and the very bed I was laid upon. 'Nobody else in sight.' I thought to myself as I stepped out of bed, almost falling forward as one of my legs gave out beneath me. Perhaps, I wasn't aware of my wounds, after all. My leg was badly bruised as an intense pain had come over me as I ran my hand over it slowly. My arm was aching horribly as I attempt to move it up to my face. My fingers moved slowly as I attempted to trigger them. Besides that, everything else seemed intact, no- 'decently functioning' I would say as a better term.

I limped over to the mirror to shock as I see my image. I still had Freiturnier on- cracked once again in different spots than the last time it had done so. There was no sign of my helmet as I looked up to my face. Perhaps it hadn't activated fully when I awakened. My necklace- I quickly looked down to see my necklace empty, with a shattered third bead at the end. I look back up to see that Freiturnier had taken a horrifying ashen gray color- much darker than the reinforced steel Ann had originally used to mend it. The blue trimmings, belt, and outlines were covered in ash as well.

I peer over to see my destroyer. Although it had taken the same ashen gray color, it seemed to be in a nice condition, counting the fact that it had slammed against Helputt's own destroyer a few times. I walk over and lug it over my back slowly, as the weight seemed to be bothering with my bruised leg. I opened the door out to a small hallway that led to a staircase going downwards. 'Where am I?' I think to myself as I 'thunked' downstairs with my heavy armor. Downstairs was nothing much. Just an empty kitchen leading out to a sort of empty saloon style room; Dusty tables and chairs were strewn about the room haphazardly while a small, unlit fireplace was implanted into the wall. 'I'm in a saloon? A tavern? An Inn?' I think to myself quizzically as I look around while walking towards the entrance.

I shove the door to the side to see Elder- half in ruins from the invasion. I turn to the left to see Hoffman and Ariel talking to the others. I wave and caught their attention while I stepped forward towards them.

"It's Sei!" Chung shouts out while pointing towards me.

The others rush towards me in glee as Chung tackles me to the ground, subjecting me to his warm embrace.

"I was worried!" Chung says while tears began to fill his eyes.

"You know it'll take more than that to take a guardian down." I chuckled as I patted him on the head.

"We rushed you to someplace safe after we saw you collapse." Rena said, while helping me back up with Chung.

"We were sure something was up." Raven reported.

"Where's Elsword?" I said while peering past Raven towards Ariel.

"He's with Hoffman, right now." He said, stepping out-of-the-way to allow me to see that Elsword and Hoffman had just shook hands. Hoffman shuffles towards me with a look of happiness on his face.

"Elsword told me you led the assault against the demons. I am overjoyed to see your actions in play, the Velder Commerce Association is forever in debt to you." He says, grabbing my hands and shaking them in joy.

"I-it was nothing, I just did what had to be done." I answered modestly while averting my eyes.

"Hey- uh, guys! Where did Add go?" I shouted out as I noticed the absence of the Diabolic Esper.

"Add? Oh- you mean the one who helped you out during the battle! He said he was going somewhere, but he also said he'd be back in a few minutes!" Aisha shouted out. I chuckled as I heard that. Seems like he's always up to something when we're just idling around.

"Oh- uh, wait! Where did Helputt go?" I quickly shouted back.

"Father said that he was, uh- going to track down the rest of the demons through this strange blue portal in the blue room you two fought in!" Chung shouted back as he continued conversing with Rena. So, he's decided to finish the job on his own, then. Kind of strange of him to go at it, alone though.

A cracking sound could be heard nearby. I turned my head quickly to see a familiar tear in reality- er, space-time. Add pulls the crevice open as he jumps out, with a disappointed look on his face.

"Gah. I won't be able to get back at the right time without some help..." He mumbled to himself solemnly while he looked towards me. "You! Tell me how long I was gone! No, scratch that- How many years'll pass before it happens!" He shouts while rushing towards me, his trademark grin appearing once again.

"A-ah, err-" I stutter as I try to remember the precise date.

"Come on, don't leave me waiting, here! The road of redemption awaits us!" He cackled while extending his outwards arms in insanity.

"I… Uhm." I continue to struggle while I place a hand on my chin.

"No, no, no- don't tell me! You forgot?!" Add said while waving his hands frantically.

He wasn't entirely wrong it's just that- Oh! I remember now!

"It was 3 years!" I shout out while looking back towards Elsword picking his nose.

"Perfect! Khahaah!" He shouted in glee while fiddling around with his holographic control panel.

"Activate Time Break!" The Diabolic Esper shouted out while he extended an open palm towards his right. The dynamos began to swirl haphazardly as they grouped together to form a circle. A purple haze of electricity appeared right in the middle of it.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" He cackled, his eyes turning black.

"B-but wait!" I said as I raised a hand towards him.

"Yes- Yes! What is it?!" Add said as he grinned towards me.

"I need to tell them, something before we leave!" I waved my hands around frantically.

"Pfah! Fine." He sulked unhappily.

"Tell us what, Sei?" Elsword walked up to me, his sword on his shoulder.

"About the things that you guys will experience in the future." I crossed my arms anxiously.

"Muh? What's gonna happen?" Elsword said while looking up to me.

"Yeah! Yeah! What's gonna happen?!" The purple haired magician questioned desperately as the rest of the group gathered up.

I turn to Elsword first. "Elsword. In the future, you will spend day and day sharpening your sword skills to your very limit, eventually gaining respect from the knights in Velder and being dubbed the unbeatable 'Lord Knight.'"

Then to Aisha. "Aisha. You will harness and master the power of the four elements in nature. Thus being able to turn the tide of the battlefield and earning the title, The 'Elemental Master.'"

"Raven," I said while peering towards Raven. "As you battle through, every day, your Nasod Hand becomes stronger and stronger with you. Later, you realize that it is amplifying your rage, causing you to lose control entirely. Through the help of pongo mechanics, there is a rage preventer attached to your hand to turn your rage into controlled power. As a year passes, you continued to train your body to the limit, channeling your rage into even more raw power, becoming the demolisher of the battlefield. However, you knew that it was only a matter of time before your sanity abandons you." His eyes widened as he heard the tale of his exploits and the danger his arm poses to him in the future.

"Rena. You train your archery skills to become unparalleled by anybody and receive a new bow created by Lenphad with faster and quicker arrows. As you progress even more in your archery, your skills increase even more so, granting you the title, 'Grand Archer.'"

"Eve. As you search within your configuration and use all your strength to power your Nasod core, you discover the Electra Code, realizing that reviving the Nasod Race to their former glory is now possible with this code. In your travels, you find a broken circuit and begin to repair it as you figure out that it is compatible with the Electra Code. You soon realize that you will have to use Dark El energy to fuel it, but also come up with the problem that it is hard to control with the Electra Code. Aisha decides to fuse it with a moonstone, but it doesn't work for long. In order to control it, you decide with this life changing decision- you terminate all of your emotions and bear the Battle Seraph code to control it, which in turn turns you into a fighter destined to usher the rebirth of the Nasod Kingdom." Eve steps back in shock as she hears this.

I turn and stare at Chung. His eyes widen as he meets with mine. "Chung, you took the path that led you to where you are today. As I journeyed on with Elsword and the others, it took a toll on my physical and mental fortitude, but I managed to prevail as I awakened the power of the Freiturnier and the Destroyer. My want to protect my people strengthened my destroyer and made it even more impervious to damage, turning me into the Iron Paladin. The same path that our Father had taken." I said while solemnly staring at the ground.

"So- wait. You're Chung from the future?" Aisha asked anxiously.

"…Yes." I say while shuffling my feet in the dirt. I look up to see the others staring at Chung. "Chung, I thought you said you were a boy!" Raven said while placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "B-but I am!" Chung frantically says back. "But! She's a girl! Stop lie-" "I am a man." I cut Aisha off quickly. She stares at me in shock. "But! But! No, no, no! How can you have such a nice butt?!" She says as she runs over, her arms extending downwards. "E-eh?! St-stop! Stay away!" I say as I hide behind my destroyer.

"There's something else I need to tell you guys!" I panic. "There will be more demons invading Elrios! We manage to fight them off, but we soon realized it wasn't enough! We decided to go through the main gate and that was when-"

"AHEM!" I hear Add shout out from behind me. "If you don't mind, we'll be going back to finish some business!" He shouted out in anger. "Dynamos, Engage!" The Diabolic Esper flicks one of his hands. But, to his dismay, the dynamos shut off quickly as they reach their limit. "Eh?! What?!" He shouts while gathering them up quickly.

"Error. Point in time is unable to be reached. Spatial Disruption detected." One of the dynamos chimed as it turned on.

"Disruption detected? Then that means that means this won't work at all. Won't work at all. At all… AT ALL?!" He shouts in a fit of anger.

"U-uhm! Wait! Add! What about the portal I used to come here?" I waved my hands frantically.

"Portal?! Oh, of course! You must've used one to get here without me! Where is it?!" He shouted as he placed both of his hands on my shoulders uncomfortably.

"I-it's in a forest in Ruben!" I say as I became dizzy from the constant shaking.

"RUBEN?! ALRIGHT! LET'S GO! KHGAAHAHAHAHHA-ARK!" He cackled as we warped instantly into the edge of Ruben.

"W-Whoa!" I screamed as I collapsed onto my knees.

"Where is it?! POINT! POINT NOW! POINT NOW GOD DAMN IT!" He shouts out as he picked me off the ground. I point vaguely towards the direction of the portal. Then, I quickly screamed once again as we warped once more.

The portal seemed to be in decent shape. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I stood up to inspect it even more. Perhaps I coul-

"Hey! What were you guys doing in the first place?!" I lost my train of thought as Add shouted in my ear impatiently.

"We were suppose to wipe out the demons on the other side." I say while placing my hands over my ears to ease the ringing.

"So that's how you guys wiped." He said slowly. "You should've had me, then. I could've located a source strong enough to blow up the entire realm! Khahaha!" He cackled as he stared into the deep blue portal.

"What do you mean?" I removed one of my hands from my ears.

"I'm saying there's a massive container of dark energy radiating from the inside of there. It's so damn strong it's practically oozing out of this thing harmlessly." He grinned.


	10. Ashes and Embers

Blue. A deep blue. As I stepped into the portal with Add, the color was the only thing I could see after that. Not the pure white that I had seen when I came through the first time- just blue. All of a sudden, I find myself falling from a high point in the air.

"Aaaaaah!" I screamed out in surprise as we began to dive down into the ashen and fire covered realm.

"Khahahaahha!" Add grinned as he spread his arms and legs out.

"W-why are we falling?!" I turned towards him quickly.

"Khahahah! You don't like this?!" He cackled.

"N-no! Of course I like falling from dangerous heights unexpectedly!" I screamed out.

"Pfaahah!" Add chuckled as he grabbed a hold of me. We warped away out of the air onto the warm, ashen ground.

"Khehe. Alright, fun's over." Add waved. I collapsed onto my knees, gasping for air.

"Y-your insane..." I mumbled.

"That source is even stronger inside, as I expected!" He said while ignoring my remark completely. "It's coming from over there!" He pointed towards the horizon.  
As we walked towards it, I noticed demons stepping out of a large portal from the left.

"It couldn't be… They're already done with their invasion?" I said, stepping back.

"Khehe. Perhaps you and the others were the last line of defense after all." He cackled while walking forward. No… we couldn't have been the last defense… This was an assault against them. We were attacking, not defending. But even more so- we're defending against them now, perhaps. As we journeyed further into the fiery realm, with its oceans of lava and marching demons and devils, we hastily stepped closer and closer towards the source, undetected.

"That's rather odd. Perhaps we were too sneaky for them. Kheheh." He cracked.

"Sneaky? With what I'm wearing? I think not." I replied while motioning towards my Freiturnier and Destroyer.

"Sneaky enough for those fools to not notice us." Add chuckled.

I sighed. You know... normally people would notice someone in heavy armor lugging around a massive cannon-like object. Trying to change the subject, I asked Add a question that's been on my mind for quite a while.

"So… what did you leave for?" I questioned.

"Muh?" He said while looking back at me.

"Why did you leave… the first time?" I continued.

"I had business to attend to." He said while averting his gaze forward.

"Could you, uh- go into detail?" I said while moving closer to him as we paced forward.

"Tch..." Add sighed. "With the new technology I created with the item from the pongos, I made a device to traverse through time."

"What did you need to go through time, for?" I stared.

"To stop something from happening. To stop something horrible." He grumbled. "My family and I, were slaves. We were forced to do these dreadful experiments. Not only were they dangerous, but outright sadistic. My mother. She did something- she saved my life. But in turn she died in my place. I knew at that point, I couldn't stay- I needed to escape. I managed to get out and escape into this ancient library. In the library, I created these dynamos," He said, motioning back to his dynamos. "But, the first attempts were unsuccessful. I had tried again and again. Again and Again. I kept creating more and more out of the broken nasod parts scattered around the library. All of the ones I had created so far were failures. I had repeated the same action over and over again. I expected- no, _wanted_ the results to change. Eventually, the repetitive failures had caused me to become insane. Slowly, the library began to collapse. But as I continued with my madness, my solution came in full. I had created a working set of dynamos. Not only did I manage to escape the library, I had seen the outside world once again. As I began to realize things, such as the nasod race's revival, I realized that the library I had escaped from had time distorted from within it, sending me many hundred years away from my initial date." He stared down solemnly.

"That's horrible." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

He brushed off my hand. "When I left to fix my broken past, I was unable to get back. Not only did I realize all of my research and effort was in vain, but I discovered different variations of me. Ones who weren't twisted. Ones whose lives were normal." Add tightened his fist. "Khaha. Look at me. Telling you this like some sick puppy. I don't expect sympathy, so get off my back." He chuckled while walking up a small hill.

"I just never expected your past to be so… sad." I said while wiping a tear off my cheek. As we went up the hill, I noticed something out of the barren and lava spotted plains. It was an ash covered building. Down at the end of the hill, was the entrance.

"It's in there." He pointed. "Once we get inside, we'll have to locate the source, and then blow it up."

"That's all? I was sure there'd be more." I chuckled.

"There is. When we blow it up, the entire realm will be gone and so will we." He chimed in. My smirk fades as I hear this. A suicide mission? But...

As we stepped into the entrance of the building, Add suddenly stopped.

"Something wro-" I stop as I see a flare in the distance. Afterwards, we could see hordes of grey figures running down towards us.

"Khehe. About time they found us." Add readied his dynamos.

"Quickly! We need to find the source!" I grabbed Add's hand, only to see him rip his hand out of my grip.

"It's fine. Khehe. You go inside and find the source. I'll slow them down." He grinned.

"A-Add?!" I looked at him in shock.

"Just go." He said, waving his hand as he stepped forward, towards the mass.

I ran into the building. Inside was something that reeked of rust and ash. The walls were lined with rust and dried blood. The floors and almost non-existent furnishings weren't that different either. As I stepped further inside, I turned a corner and saw a strange figure at the end of the hallway. A woman in crimson was looking up at a wall. She shortly turned towards me and gave me a piercing stare.

"U-uhm. H-hell-" I was quickly cut off when she dashed down the hallway at sonic speeds and slashed at my cheek. I readied my destroyer, only to be knocked down onto my back with a sharp kick. As she lunged with at me with her long, crimson blade, I log rolled out-of-the-way. I quickly got up and swung my destroyer- only to miss as she casually stepped out-of-the-way. She swung at me, but fortunately I blocked them both with my destroyer. The Crimson Lady then pointed her sword tip towards me, and released something from her sword that I never had seen before. A dark vortex of pain seemingly appeared right at the tip of her sword. The first few seconds of blocking it were overwhelming- to say the least. I quickly realized that I won't be able to block it much longer and succumbed to the almost never-ending pain. I was stunned. Unable to move from the numbness that overwhelmed my body. She then promptly kicked me down to the ground and stared at me once more with her piercing eyes.

I frankly, passed out from the shear numbness. Those eyes. That piercing gaze. It was all I could see in the dark world that had enveloped me inside my own conscious. Perhaps I'm dead. Perhaps dying in this hell has already clutched me from joining the rest of my fallen comrades. Perhaps I'll b-

ARHJGHJAKSHDJKHFJKA. ASLKTRNJJFJDHGJSAHFKL. Ew. Eeew. Gross! This is...! I quickly opened my eyes in shock and panic to see an El Revitalization Drink's contents being forced into my mouth. I spit and spat at the horrible taste that was in my mouth. Frankly, I never liked that drink. Its taste was horrible. Such a shame it has to be like that or its properties won't be the same. Besides the overwhelming taste, it's everything a guardian could want.

"W-what?!" I quickly sat up.

"You're slow. How do you think you will be able to manage against the foes in this realm?" I look up to see the crimson clad woman towering over me. As I blink, she disappears entirely from my view.

I quickly stood up and continued down the hallway. If there are more beings as strong as her in here, I'm going to have quite some trouble and possibly join the others. I turn the corner of the hallway to see a familiar figure collapsed on the floor.

Rena. It was Rena. I quickly sprinted over to her and placed the back of my hand on her cheek. She was cold, almost as if the life had seemingly been sapped out of her. I fell backwards after realizing that she was dead and this was her corpse. She's dead.. Oh god. But wait… why is she here- why is her corpse, here? I crawled forward to expect her cold body once more. The poor Grand Archer was riddled with stab and slash marks… most likely from the horde that had enveloped her.. I shake my head, trying to dispose of the mental image.

I need to keep going… Add needs me to. I'm not going to fail my friends once more. No.

As I turned and entered a massive room, I noticed a figure even more familiar, no- Two figures.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Euugh. I don't feel like I had the right mood on me when I wrote this chapter. *sigh***


	11. Betrayal

The familiar red haired figure had a certain magician's head on his lap. As I looked closer, Aisha's body was pale with a small blood splatter at the lip. I look up to see Elsword covered in dried blood. He couldn't have...

"Elsword... What did you do...?" I asked slowly.

He looked up and stared at me. "Ah. Chung. It's you." He chuckled.

"What happened?" I questioned.

"Hahaha. It's nothing, nothing at all really." He grinned while widening his eyes.

I took a step back in horror. "Did you... Do this?"

"Rena was getting a bit annoying, I figured it was time to make her stop." He chuckled while keeping on the wide grin.

"But… She was your friend! How could you do that?" I replied.

"Friends... Shmends. All I need… is her. Haha." Elsword brushed Aisha's hair.

"Have you gone mad?!" I yelled in anger.

"Mad? I think not. The Dark El showed me things. New things that made me powerful. Strong enough to change things to my liking." He chuckled while motioning towards a fragment of the Dark El firmly clasped in his hand. "You're getting boring now. I think it's time for you to leave us be." He said while getting up.

"E-Elsword?!" I took another step back.

"Now just stand still, Kukuku!" He cackled whilst unsheathing his sword.

He dashed towards me in a blur of red. I quickly raised my destroyer. Thunk! I blocked the blow and swiped towards him whilst screaming angrily. Like the Crimson Woman had said, I was too slow. He kicked me, knocking me off balance. Luckily I swung my destroyer towards him to stop the next incoming strike. We lock weapons.

"Elsword! This isn't you!" I yelled.

"Me? Of course it's me! Who else would it be?" He grinned. "Meegaaaa..." A dark, red aura enveloped his sword as he drew back. I took a step back in horror as he charge towards me. I rolled out of the way desperately to avoid the blow.

"Slash!" He screams out as he misses and strikes the ground where I had just been. The floor exploded, followed by a small line of destruction. He turned his head towards me, his grin of insanity and wide eyes still covering his face. He jumps up in the air and does an acrobatic roll, his sword still unsheathed, towards me. I position myself the block the attack once again- Thunk! I look over my destroyer to see Elsword bounce back a few feet.

"This is so much fun!" He cackled.

"You're not the Elsword I once knew! You're only some corrupted psychopath now!" I shout back at him.

"What did you say?!" He yelled back angrily.

"The Elsword I knew always fought for good! He practiced his swordsmanship every day, honing his skills to protect his friends! He said to me that he'd rather die than kill his own friends!" I yelled.

He was clearly taken back from my reply. His eyes widening even more in disbelief.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! You're none of that!" I shout as I charge towards him.

"S-Shut up!" The Lord Knight swung his sword towards me once again.

I ducked under his swing and landed a blow on him with my destroyer, sending him towards a nearby wall. He groaned as he unstuck himself from the stone wall.

"The Elsword I knew was the method to all my fears and hesitations! He rallied me when I lost all hope in battle!" I yelled once again.

"I said shut up!" He screamed out as he charged towards me once again. He dashed up to me and began to swing. A look of hesitation clouded his face as he stopped a few seconds before swinging. I quickly evaded the blow.

"You hesitated to swing at me. Perhaps you're saved after all." I joked while brushing my hair to the side.

"Grrrrr…." Elsword growled at me as I made that remark. I charged towards him with my destroyer. He dodged my first two swings, but quickly got overwhelmed by the tornado I had formed by swinging my destroyer around myself. I slammed my destroyer into the ground, implanting him into the concrete. He moaned in pain as he tried to unstick himself.

"Elsword. I know you're better than that. You're not some psychopath. Look past what was given to you by the Dark El." I said while I swiped the ground, making him slide across the floor while disturbing the dust around him. He placed both of his hands on his head in distress.

"I told you… t-to shut up a-already..." He stuttered. He began to shake violently. I just need to push him further…

A dark aura began to surround him as he began to shake more and more fiercely. He clutched the Dark El shard even tighter as he began to let out a blood curdling scream that made it seem like the world was shaking around us. It couldn't be… he was awakening?! It couldn't be possible, yet… it's happening. He raised his head to stare straight into his soul with his wide eyes and nightmarish grin. He grabbed his sword with both of his hands and charged towards me while cackling.

"Khahahaahahahahah! I've heard enough!" He shouted out whilst stopping a few feet in front of me.

"Unlimited Blade!" He dashes towards me, swinging with all his might, and lands several consecutive blows on me before I raise my destroyer and struggle to block the rest. The blows then began to become fiercer as he continued his almost endless assault.

"Khahahahaah! Give up! Give up! GIVE UP! GIVE UP!" He cackled.

It was at this point in time, I decided to stop playing defensively. I parried one of his strikes and sent him back a few feet and rammed straight into him whilst screaming. I slammed my destroyer into him again and again, most of which were barely blocked by his sword. He was clearly taken back by the sudden change of tactics. But, it didn't last long as he grinned once more and pushed me back. I rammed into him once again and screamed.

"Lunatic Blow!" I shout out as I smash into him again and again, sending him further into the ground each time I struck him. As I landed the very last blow, his look of shock quickly turned back into a smile of insanity as he took on a lowered stance.

"Mega…." He mumbled as I stood there, unable to move. I was too tired from my last attack and collapsed onto my knees. Because of my sudden change of tactics, I was too aggressive to notice if I was able to recover from my next attack. I stood there, frozen in fear and fatigue as his sword began to charge up more and more. "Slash!" He quickly began to slam his sword downwards. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end- but the end had not come. I open them once more to see Elsword's sword missing from his hand. He was confused, like I was.

"W-what..?" He gasps. I blink to see a familiar sight. The crimson woman was standing over me with her back turned towards me. She was looking at Elsword. As words tried to come out of Elsword's mouth, he was slashed at by the crimson woman's sword. He took a step back, clutching his chest tightly to apply pressure. He drops the Dark El fragment and raises his free hand towards the crimson lady, looking for mercy. But it had not come. She impaled her sword into Elsword's stomach with an emotionless look covering her face. Elsword screamed out in terror as the blade was pulled out of him and he quickly collapses onto the floor in pain. He manages to get his last few words out through a shrewd mumble.

"W-why… Sis…" He turns his head as his eyes lower slightly. The woman had rested Elsword's head on her lap and wrapped her hands around him. She shoves her sword into the cold, hard ground as she stares into Elsword's now faded and lifeless eyes. Elsword knew her? Why didn't he tell us before all of this happened? Perhaps he was afraid of…. Wait. Sis? I take a step forward and stoop down to examine to woman closer. Aside from her piercing stare, her flowing hair, and the fact that she was a girl, she looked remarkably like Elsword. Almost as if, they were… siblings.

"Elesis?" I widen my eyes.

She looks towards me, but her gaze quickly goes back to Elsword. Maybe, I should go forward and give them their privacy. I stood up and headed for the door entrance on the other side of the room, looking back to see the Aisha's corpse was conveniently placed next to Elsword's. They're in a better place, now…

As I continued down the hallway, I came to this massive opening to a massive room. Inside, I see a massive orange container, sparking violently. This is it… it's the source Add was talking about. What else could it be? As I lowered my view, I saw once again, another familiar figure. It was… _her._

"A-ara?!" I gasp as I look towards her.

"Chung, I've been waiting." She smiled. Something was… different about her smile. But I quickly put my fears aside and rushed over to hug her.

"It's been so long… Ara." I cried into her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon." She murmured into my ear softly. I knew what she meant. It was time for me to end it. Time for me to stop the invasion and finish the job, like she said. So that all of my friend's efforts weren't in vain.

I aimed my destroyer towards the massive container. It's finally time. I finally made it here. I'm glad to have known all of…

Shhhnk. Blood splatters out of my mouth as I drop my destroyer down on to the ground. I stare down at the spear protruding out of my chest and then back to Ara, no- **Eun.** W-what..? How… Why…?

" **I've told you before. You'll only suffer more in the end."**


	12. Impatience

"Hraaaaaah!" I scream out as I blast another demon into the next Hell. Well, perhaps this is already the seventh hell and I'm just blasting him into oblivion, no wait- perhaps he's getting sent back to Elrio- Nononono, perhaps it's-

Chnnnk! I quickly evade as I come back out of my drifting mind. Tch. I need to pay attention so I don't get hit. I've yet to see any notable power of a single demon, but in groups, these bastards are annoying. I've blasted down around 3 at once and 5 decide to come and replace them, what are the odds? The odds- odds are I won't survive, at all if I have to make my last stand. Perhaps, no-

 _Whooosh_. I narrowly evade an arrow whizzing past my head. My eyes widen as I come back to my senses. God damn it! Damn it again! I need to pay attention, not just sit idly by as I almost get hit!

"Particle Accelerator!" A straight line could be seen throughout the enemy lines as the blast wiped out hundreds. Alright, that's a handful of them down, now I'll- Damn it! They filled the empty space with even more of them! I look back into the entrance of the building. What's taking Chung so long?! It should be as easy as just strolling in there and blowing the damn thing up!

I quickly blast a few demons around me and charge straight into the building. I aim up and fire to blast to make the entrance collapse. The area around me rumbled as the roof collapsed upon itself, spewing clouds of dust everywhere. Perfect, it should just be me strolling over to the power source. I brush off bits of ash and dust of my shoulder in disgust. I should've known...

Such a drab building this is. It reeks of rust and mold- so unsanitary! I'm starting to wish I hadn't come inside. Whatever- I had no choice except die instead, I should be thankful this building was here. But still... I groan in disgust as I slump over and continue walking through the building. I'm not hearing any booms. I'm not feeling a searing feeling on my flesh- Chung, what gives?! I swear, sometimes I think I'm the only valuable asset in the entire group because of things not happening on point like I would expect. No, wait- I have to include Eve. The nasod had some devastating fire power with that new code of hers. Electra, was it? Nononono, she stopped using that moonstone… Battle something- Battle… Sarcophagus? She has a code named for a coffin that engages in combat? No, no- It's an angel, not a coffin. Seara- Serrr.… Err… Seraph? Battle Seraph, yes- I'm sure that's it.

I slowly turned around the corner to see a giant room, with a great blood stain in the center. As I looked around, I saw this strange, crimson haired woman holding a person in her arms.

"Hey, you! Have you seen a person with blonde hair and hulking armor pass through here?"

I stepped closer and closer. I immediately realized who was in her arms. It was a blood stained _Elsword_. My eyes widen as I take a step back and look back up to the crimson woman. _She was staring at me._

"Did you do this?!" I yelled.

She remained silent and lowered her head. She then began to stare back at Elsword's corpse. Damn you for not responding to me. You will pay, you hear me?!

"Now… Tell, me. Did you do this?!" I rushed forward and put my hand on her shoulder. _Woosh._ I jump back quickly as I see her grasp a shiny red metal in her other hand and slash at me. "You little rat..." I grumble as I raise my hand towards her. "Particle Accelerator!" The place rumbled, stirring dust up and obscuring my vision. As it cleared, Elsword and the woman were nowhere to be seen. _Or that's what they want me to think. I know you're there, you rat._ I teleport a few feet away as the woman reappeared and tried to slash at me once again, only to miss. _Dynamo, begin a scan._ "Particle Shot!" I scream out as I raised a hand towards her as a purple ball of electricity begins to charge up in my hand. I release the shot, resulting in another explosion, obscuring my vision once again. _Beep._

 _Identity: ?_

 _Age: 19_

 _Height: 167 cm (5ft, 5in)_

 _Weapon Analysis: Claymore_

 _Genetic Analysis Notification: Genes are similar to Elsword._

 _CAUTION: Target is corrupted and wields the power of the dark el._

Corrupted by the Dark El? What a foolish move. I look to the side to see a dark, pulsating light through the cloud of smoke flying towards me. I teleport away once again to see the smoke clearing once more. The woman was aiming her other hand towards where I was. She's able to shoot dark energies at her opponents? Interesting indeed. But what about the notification? Related to Elsword? Then who could she possibly be, his aunt? No, she'd have more wrinkles. His cousin? No, the genetic analysis notification wouldn't bother to show me that. Could it be a sibling? It could be poss-

My train of thought is cut off as I move out of the way of the woman's weapon. God damn it! Stop pestering me while I think! "Gravity Buster!" I yell out as a circular field of energy envelops her. A sibling? I don't recall Elsword saying he had any siblings… then who coul- Yes, he did say he had a sibling! A sister, I think! Her name was Elli- Eli- Eld- Elda- Elsa- Ellis- Elesis! Yes that's i- _Krrrkk!_ The field of energy breaks and immediately fizzles out of existence. God damn it! Stop interrupting me!

"Could you possibly be Elesis?" I say as an annoyed look on my face began to surface. She stares at me once more with her piercing eyes, but promptly lowers her weapon.

"A woman clad in armor as grey as smoke wielding a giant slab of iron passed through here not long ago. She went through that doorway." She pointed towards a nearby door. I keep my eyes on her as I step towards the door. She disappeared and reappeared with Elsword's corpse once again in her hands. As my eyes stray to the side, I see she was conveniently parked next to that blasted purple haired magician's corpse. To think that I just had to say her name for her to stop attacking me. What an annoying individual.

As I stepped through the door into a hallway, it became noticeably darker. I quickly ordered my dynamos to produce some light. Though it may not be much since I didn't invest in actually making it any brighter than a dying campfire, It did somewhat help me see down in the dark hallway. After a few minutes of walking, I noticed a distinct droning sound getting louder and louder. Yes, that should be it, the power source and most likely Chung. As I traveled further down the dark, empty hallway, I started seeing a dim orange light. I stepped into the next room. My eyes go up towards the massive container of dark energy. It's massive, though not as massive as I thought. It's massive _enough_ to do the job, though. Now, where is Chung? My eyes quickly searched the room left to right. Hmm? Not here? Did that crimson woman lie to me? My eyes stop on the container and slowly move downwards towards… _a bloodied corpse._ Chung… My legs turn to jelly as I fall down on to my knees.

"No…"

My knees? They've given out from under me for some odd reason. I immediately feel a distinct wetness slowly going downwards from my eyes. Placing my hands on my face, I gawk in surprise. "Water?"

There's water going down my face? I'm quite sure there's not a single drop of undiluted water in this place. No, it's not water… they're… they're… _tears._ I'm crying? My raise my head to see a girl. No, it wasn't the Girl. It was… _That Damn Fox._

" **Ohoho? Long time no see,** _ **Tinkerer.**_ **"**


	13. The Truth

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH!" I scream out as I charge towards the gods damned fox _in anger. How dare you?! You killed him! You killed the last of them! There is no road of redemption for me now! Do you know what this means for me?!_ I make quick movements with my hands, blasting waves of energy at her wildly and recklessly. She quickly blocks all of them with her spear, and sweeps the ground at my feet. I jump up and hover on top of my dynamos.

"YOU DAMN ANIMAL!"

" **Watch your tongue, child.** " She glares back with her piercing red eyes.

I fire a wave of energy diagonally towards her and begin kicking with my feet, creating several more blasts of energy from my dynamos. I promptly switch back to hand movements and continue firing more waves of energy.

"Particle Accelerator!" I shout out in anger as I raise my hand to fire. I blow up the area in front me, afterwards, what seemed like a scream of agony emitted from within the cloud of dust. _I've got you._ I smirked in false confidence. _I know you're not down for the count._

"Maximum Strike!" I shout out as I see a figure moving towards me in the smoke. Eun slashes at me with her spear, only to be knocked backwards as her spear comes in contact with one of the 6 spatiotemporal bodies now circling around me. I smirk in satisfaction as I lob one of the orbs towards her only for it to be knocked to the side from her spear. I teleport in front of her and begin firing even more electricity from my dynamos, knocking her backwards each time. As she quickly gets out of my range, I continuously warped towards her, only to further continue my assault. "Mind Break!" I raise my hand mid assault for a triangle to appear above her head and smite her, and then continuing where I left off. I tighten my fist and spun around as I threw it at her face, sending her flying towards a nearby wall. Purple electricity circulated in my tightly clenched fist as it twitched in anger. I smiled in ever growing insanity as I raised my other hand towards her.

"Gravity Buster!" I shout out as a great, sphere of purple electricity rains down upon her. _Kukukuku… That's what you get._

" **Not bad."**

I stagger back in surprise as I hear the fox's voice once more. _Impossible!_ She charges towards me in a blink of an eye, clawing at me with sudden ferocity as she began her counterattack. She swept and slashed at me with her spear, spinning it around in great, giant circles with seemingly infinite range. _What is this?! Didn't my attacks make a head on collision?! This isn't plausible! There is no way she would go through all of that without getting a single scratch!_ A black orb appears in her hand and then promptly explodes as it is shoved inside of me, sending a wave of strange energy throughout my body. A sudden shock spasms throughout my body as I feel weaker and weaker. I teleport out of the way only to be slashed at once more at the end of my teleport.

" **Phantom Fox Stance 1: Savor."** She says as she claws at me twice quickly.

" **Phantom Fox Stance 2: Discordance."** She slashes through me in a blur, not once, not twice, but _thrice,_ leaving me screaming in pain.

" **Phantom Fox Stance 3: Rapid Raid."** I quickly raise my hand towards her and shout out, "Void Impact!" As the subspace appears to begin tearing through her, Eun goes straight through it without even as so much as flinching. She claws at me again while weaving in spear slashes from her other hand, splattering blood upon the walls.

" **Phantom Fox Stance 4: Fox's Meal."** She stabs me with her spear, cocks it back, and spins around in a hurricane fashion, slashing at me once again.

" **Pulverization."** She slashes at me twice, splattering even more blood on the walls.

I fall to the ground as she pierces me in the chest. I grab hold of the spear and tried to pull it out. I looked back up to the white haired specter. _You… You god damn animal… how dare YOU for doing this. I was looking for the path of redemption, hoping to finish the job with the last of my comrades. But, no- You just have to be there, waiting for us at the very last step to rain down upon us. I'll see you in the next hell, you god damn animal._ She smirks at me in triumph and asks me something.

" **Tell me why you continue to fight."** I am taken back by her outrageous question. Why do I continue to fight like this? **"Everything and everyone you love or cared about is gone. There's nothing for you in this world anymore. It's almost as if you're desperate enough to think there's a shred of meaning for you anymore. The fact that you left, and then came back even more deranged, tells me that you had already failed in what you were supposed to do when you left. Isn't that so?"** She chuckled lightheartedly. "D-damn you…" I wheeze back at her in anger. "W-why couldn't I kill you?! HOW COULD YOU STILL BE ALIVE?!" I shout in pain. **"Yes… yes. Why couldn't you kill me?"** She laughed. **"You can't** _ **really**_ **hit me."** _What do you mean by that?!_ "W-what..?" I coughed. **"It's quite simple really.** _ **You're weak.**_ **Let's just say, you were a fool for thinking that you could win against me."** She looked back at Iron Paladin's corpse and walked over towards it, only to fling it towards Add like a rag doll. **"But I digress. The others would have even been able to stand a small chance against me in this state, but only if they were to fight me as a group. Ah, but that is no longer is possible now, is it?"** Eun chuckles as she stared up at the giant, bright orange container of dark energy. **"What should it manner now? You're going to die."** She turned back and walked towards me. The white haired specter grabbed a hold of her spear once more, trying to tug it out of my body. As I looked up at her and grinned in triumph, she widened her eyes in surprise.

"D… D…" I mumbled silently as I lowered my head.

" **W-what?"**

"Dynamo Configuration Mode Activate!" I yell out as I pulled the spear deeper inside me, getting me closer towards that blasted fox. She takes a step back in shock as she sees me do so as I place my hand on her shoulder and come face to face.

"Paranoia!"

* * *

I wake up to a dimly lit wooden room. Sunlight was shining inside through the windows, making what little light was inside. Tables were flipped over and chairs were scattered everywhere. Books and ripped pages were strewn about haphazardly as ink was dripping off the only table that was upright, creating a small puddle on the floor. _Why am I here? Shouldn't I be dead? I was a fool who thought that he could go through redemption. A fool that thought that he would be forgiven after failing to protect his friends. Everything I hoped to save, was only a false dream. She… she wasn't there after all._ I stare down at the dusty floor as I flip a chair upright and take a seat. I hear a voice from outside the window. I slowly rise from my chair and step towards the blurry mirror. Outside, I could hear feint breathing. As I wipe a portion of the window clean with my glove, I immediately noticed, a small, familiar figure. It was a child with blonde hair in the shape of a bowl that had two lops of hair with brown ends to them. He had blue eyes with wolf pawed shape irises. The child appeared to be wielding a small spear. _It's…. me? It was me when I was training with a spear..._ _I don't get it. Why am I here? Why am I watching my younger self do this? Why am I still alive?_ As I stared longer and longer at my past, I noticed a great, giant figure appear into my field of view. It was a shadowy figure in a familiar set of white armor. _Father._ I take a step away from the window in shock and immediately notice a mirror to my right. Taking a step closer to examine it, I see a shadowy figure behind me. I turn around slowly to see a person curled up in a ball. As I walked towards her, she looked up towards me.

"Is something wrong?"

She continued to stare at me but gave no response. Tears were streaming down her face. Her appearance was rather familiar. She had black hair that had its ends turned into two separate braids. Her eyes were heterochrony, one red and one orange. She was wearing a strange dress with a single line of cloth with a bell tied to the end. In her hands, there was a distinct white hairpin.

"Ara?"

"C-Chung, w-why has the light stopped shining in your eyes...?" She replied in fearful tone while clutching the hairpin tightly.

 _The light in my eyes?_ I looked back at the mirror to see that my eyes had turned into a shrewd grey color.

"Please Chung… you're scaring me."

I looked back at her depressingly.

"Why should you care? You're the one who took my dream and just threw it to the side."

"What are you talking about?" She replied while wiping the tears away from her face.

"Don't tell me you don't remember. You killed me."

"K-killed you? I didn't do anything of the sort!"

"…" _She doesn't remember or know anything of what happened? How could this be?_ Then I noticed something. The hairpin in her hands was broken in half.

"I-I haven't been able to d-do much… Eun isn't here anymore…" She said while raising the split hairpin in one of hands towards me. _She looks exactly like how I last saw her back then. The hairpin's broken… Ara said she's unable to do anything… She doesn't even remember what happened. Eun… Eun isn't here with Ara._

"Tell me, do you remember what I told you?"

"W-what..? This is the first time I've s-seen of you in quite a while…"

 _Then, that means… The Ara in the white room was a fake._ I sighed heavily as I sat down beside her.

"You know…" I said slowly. "The group and I grew stronger and stronger every day fighting the demons in order the save Elrios. It wasn't the best, but at times, we prevailed and got through the worst. Little did we know, it was only the beginning. We managed to surprise even ourselves, as we grew even stronger than we thought we could ever be. We clashed. We conquered, and most importantly, we protected. I couldn't have done it alone, and I'm sure the others couldn't have done it alone either. We took back Hamel, but we decided it wasn't enough." I lowered my head as my eyes drifted towards Ara. She was quite interested, I'd say.

"We decided to take down the source of it all, on their turf. And that- that was when things started to fall apart. Everyone died, except me, leaving me as the sole survivor. Not even a week later, I find that Elsword, Rena, and Aisha had survived, but that Elsword had murdered the both of them in cold blood after succumbing to the Dark El. Moments later, after Elsword was put down, I was killed."

Ara gasps in shock as she hears this. "W-who killed you?"

"It was _you._ No, it wasn't you. It was _Eun._ " I say while pointing at Ara then the broken hairpin.

"E-Eun wouldn't do such a thing! She isn't a bad specter!" She replies desperately as her eyes drift towards the hairpin.

" _You know nothing_." I said in an annoyed tone as my eyes drift towards her once again as I saw that she was clearly taken back from my statement. Once again, silence filled the room once more. I sat up and walked towards the door at the end of the room.

"W-wait!" Ara blurted out. I stopped walking towards the door but did not look back at her.

"T-that door won't open… I've tried..." She said slowly.

I continued walking towards the door, almost as if I didn't hear what she had said. As I stepped towards the door, I raised my hand toward the doorknob. As I grabbed ahold of the doorknob, I immediately noticed, _It wasn't locked._ I looked back at Ara only to see a look of surprise on her face as I pulled open the door to see a sunrise in the distance. I look down to see clouds at the same level as the floor I was standing on. As I began inspecting the scenery even more, I hear a noise to my right to see that Ara had gotten up and was moving towards me to grab a hold of my arm.

"Y-you opened the d-door…" She mumbled as she began staring at the sunrise with me.

We stepped forward together through the door and fell through the clouds. The landscape below us was lush and green complimenting the sunrise from earlier. As the wind sped fast my face, I looked towards Ara. _She was smiling_. My eyes widen in surprise. It was a real smile. It was the smile that I knew and loved back when we were still together. The smile that was quite possibly the only smile that I would've seen that day.

"Chung…" She mumbled as she gripped my hand tightly.

"I-I missed you…" She whispered while crying into my shoulder. "I've always wondered what you and the others were doing…" "I just hoped, back then… That I could've stayed with you guys just a little longer…" "I wished that I could've gotten stronger with all of you..." "Please… Keep _living_ for me." She said slowly as tears streamed down her face. As we fell faster and faster, I was surprised to see a blinding, orange light begin to envelope her. As it slowly shrunk down, she was gone, and where her hand used to be, there was a shining, orange stone with wings in its place.

 _A Resurrection Stone._


	14. The Source

"Haackgh!" I coughed loudly as I pulled the broken spear out of my bloodied chest.

 _Okay… That should've killed her… but the container hasn't been shattered as of yet… I have a bad feeling about this…_ As the cloud of dust began to lessen and lessen, I am greeted by several hundred small, orange lights through the smoke, illuminating a familiar figure. To my shock and terror, that damn fox was still standing. Fortunately, it looks like the attack had taken a toll on her.

 **"Such insolence…"** She grunted angrily as she placed her hand on her shoulder. I looked past her to see that the container seemed to have not taken a single scratch. _What the hell… That was my strongest ability, yet she's still standing?!_

"I'll give you this, tinkerer. You were smart to try to sneak in that attack like that." She muttered as she raised her hand towards me, causing the several hundred small, orange lights began to flicker more violently. _Agh… Damn it. Perhaps this would've turned out better if…_ My train of thought immediately stops as the lights began to speed towards me at an alarming rate. I open my mouth in fear as they began to get closer and closer. _So, this is it, eh? I would've thought it would've been more gruesome. Heheh._ I grinned once more. They make contact with something in front of me. I quickly shield my eyes from the smoke and dust as the lights explode violently. _That's… not right. Did she miss? Of course not, she had plenty of time to take aim… Unless…_

As the smoke and dust slowly began to clear up, I could see a distinct figure in front of me facing away. The smoke clears up, to show a shocking sight- Chung, it was Chung who was standing in right front of me, almost as if he wasn't dead at all when I saw him- just sleeping. _What the hell?! How is he still alive? I would've sworn there was no sign of life in his corp-_

"Hehehehehehehe..." Chung slowly laughed as he moved the destroyer to the left of him. _He's laughing? Why the hell is he laughing?_

 **"You..."** Eun scowled angrily as she laid eyes upon the Iron Paladin. She jumped at him almost immediately only to be struck in the stomach and sent flying towards a wall by a swing of Chung's destroyer. Eun struggles as she slowly dislodged herself from the wall and landed on her hands and knees.

"Add." I am surprised to hear Chung call out to me. "Don't be shocked, that just makes me feel UNWANTED." He laughs once more. "Now, step aside, before you become a hindrance to me." Chung said as he waves at me with the back of his hand.

 _A hindrance?! How dare you call me that!_ I stared at him angrily as he took a step forward. As he continued to walk toward Eun, I hear a distinct shattering sound. _What the hell was that?_ I continued to look up towards him. Eun jolted back up on her feet and lunged at Chung with her claws once more, only to be blocked and counterattacked back into the wall.

 **"What the hell..."** She muttered angrily as she opened her eyes to look back at Chung. _There- there it was again. That- that shattering sound._ I quickly ordered my Dynamos to scan the area once more.

 _"Damaged Sustained: 92.34%_

 _(2) Out of (6) dynamos operable._

 _Scan:_

 _Extreme Energy Inflation Detected!_

 _Awakening Necklace has shattered!"_

 _His Awakening Necklace has shattered? How the hell could that happen? Those necklaces were said to be able to withstand the strongest energy sources ever known in Elrios! Unless…_ My gaze quickly averts toward the giant container of dark energy. _The fool… He's drawing power from the container's energy! You're going to get corrupted like your father did, idiot!_ I turn back towards Chung. _His aura… It's different…_ Chung's Aura had quickly turned from a pure white into a bright yellow.

Eun quickly removed herself from the wall and stood up once more. She charged once more towards Chung to get into close quarters and quickly fired an orb from the palm of her hand. It was a direct hit. "Nrgh..." Chung muttered as brushed off the blow and slammed his destroyer into Eun once more, then knocked her back with a backhand from his destroyer. "Brutal Swing!" He shouted out angrily as he rammed his destroyer into Eun, following it up with a sudden bash. **"AAACK!"** Eun cried out pain as she is sent flying a few feet to the side. Chung walks towards her slowly and approaches her. Eun slashes upwards from the ground as she catches Chung off guard. The tearing of metal could be heard as Eun attacks Chung with a flurry of swipes, slashes, and cuts. Chung quickly jumps up and stomps with his heavy armor, knocking Eun up into the air in front of him. He then proceeds swing his destroyer upwards and bashes his destroyer into Eun once more. The building began to shake haphazardly as he slams the heap of metal into Eun, eventually whirling his destroyer round and round, creating a small hurricane. Eun quickly breaks from the hurricane and upper-slashes Chung, followed by another whirlwind of attacks from her sharp claws, only to stop short as she runs out of energy. As Eun begins to move slower and slower, she clutches her shoulder once more. The Iron Paladin slowly raises the end of his destroyer towards Eun's chest.

 **"Haah…"** She says as she releases her breath. **"So, it comes to this… If you wish to kill me, you will kill the girl as well. "** She chuckled. Chung glares at her as he lowers his Destroyer halfway. That damn fox… she'd use her own vessel as a hostage?!

"You know..." Chung chuckled slowly.

 **"M-muh?"** Eun says in surprise as he suddenly starts to laugh.

"What pisses me off the most is… the fact that you continue to flaunt around that face as if it were really hers!" His smile quickly fades as he raises his destroyer up to Eun's face. "Steel Edge!" A ferocious blast is immediately fired by Chung's destroyer, sending chunks of the wall in front of him flying everywhere. A great hole is revealed as the smoke slowly begins to clear, the crimson red sky's light quickly pours into the building. The smell of smoke and ash quickly floods my nostrils as I stare deep into the hole.

The Iron Paladin is quickly taken back as a strange creatures pounces on to him. The scraping of metal could be heard as the wolf-like creature begins to bite down on his destroyer. Chung quickly pushes the creature off of him and quickly follows it up with the swing from his destroyer. The wall cracks even more as the being is embedded into it. As I began to examine the being, I quickly noticed the similarities between Eun and the creature. _It can manifest itself into a physical state?!_ _Then why hadn't it done so in the first place?!_ Eun falls down onto the cold, hard floor once more as Chung slowly strides over to her. I get up, only to collapse with my back against the wall. _Dammit… I can't get up…_

The echo of Chung's footsteps stop as he finally towers over Eun with the air of aggression. The Iron Paladin quickly steps back as he sees Eun jolt back onto her feet. The building shakes violently as Eun begins to howl, knocking Chung backwards. The shifting of dust could be heard as Eun seemingly fades out of sight, only to pounce onto the Chung's back moments after. The kumiho begins to roar louder and louder as she sinks her fangs into the Guardian's back. I raise my hand in protest. "Particle Shot!" I shout out as I aim my hand towards Eun. Purple electricity begins to charge up into a small sphere as I strain myself to squeeze out what little energy was left. The sound of a loud explosion could be heard as my attack makes contact with the kumiho. I strain myself even more to stand up once again, grunting in pain as I place my hand against the blood stained wall for support. I quickly shove my hand into my pocket, revealing a crimson red elixir. My muscles begin to soothe as I chug it down quickly. The Celestial Fox's claws skid across the floor as it endures my attack. Chung looks at me with the utmost surprise as I begin to shuffle towards him. Suddenly, a bolt of electricity strikes the ground near Chung, the sounds echoing throughout the room. The sound of vicious growling could be heard from Eun.

The rushing of wind could be heard as a great, orange symbol appears over Eun. The symbol begins to spin faster and faster. Dust and wind begin to pick up as it rotates more and more, forming a hurricane. As the hurricane began to grow and grow, we start sliding closer and closer to it. Scraping could be heard as we continued to inch towards it more and more. The Iron Paladin took guard once more, pulling me behind him. The winds began to get more and more violent, forming a terrifying vortex that pulled and pulled unyieldingly. As I peered past Chung, shielding my eyes from the dust, I began to see the vortex shifting and tapering off to one edge. The edge was slowly rotating towards us, the winds subsiding as the top of it was now pointed away from us. Then suddenly, it sped towards us at in an incredible speed. Like a drill, it kept pecking into Chung's destroyer over and over again, only to be held at one place as the Iron Paladin stood his ground with unyielding determination.

A cracking sound could be heard in the midst of the commotion, the last bead had shattered. My eyes quickly widened as I see Chung's aura turn into a deep orange accompanied with a small grin upon Chung's face. Fumes could be seen billowing out from the back of his destroyer as he began to shift it slowly. He slaps away the drill, only to see it loop back into our direction. Chung gripped his destroyer tightly as he almost slams his destroyer into the ground, only to stop it just a few inches away. He screams furiously as he draws it back and aims it towards Eun as the fumes turn into vivid blue flames billowing out from the back of his destroyer. The breaking of stone and flooring could be heard as the drill began to speed towards Chung at an alarming rate. Unfaltering, Chung stopped holding back his destroyer and went with it as he swung at Eun, shouting out,

"Doom Strike!"

As the explosion fills the world around us, the container could be heard shattering violently in the background.

...

...

...

Light.

 **Then Darkness.**

* * *

 **Update: 8/11/15 22:19**

 **OH. OH, OKAY! SHIFT THIS THING OFF THE BLOODY FRONT PAGE SO IT DOESN'T GET ANY ATTENTION WHEN THE WEBSITE'S FIXED! OH, ALRIGHT! SURE!**


	15. Death's Chains

My soul aches as I begin to experience emotions that I had not known before. The deep abyss of darkness begins to encroach upon me, creating chains that seemingly bound me to this sightless prison. Unknown to me, a great orange energy swells up inside of me, a piercing feeling comes over me as it tries to claw its way out of me. A stone, a blue stone, my guardian stone begins to swell horrifically in my chest until the last of its pure blue is no longer there, and only orange remains. My eyes widen in terror as it begins to burrow deep inside of me. I try to scream, only to let out a faint, inaudible wheeze. My muscles and body seizes up as a numb feeling comes over me. Tears stream down my face as agony washes over me.

"F-father..." I utter inaudibly. "Help... Help me..."

I strain myself as I raise my hands upwards, towards the ever encroaching darkness above. I see chains slowly wrapping around my arm as I stare up continuously at the dark abyss. The chains continuously grow around and on me as I float endlessly. An eternity of suffering seems to pass as I drift throughout the abyss with unfaltering pain. The chains ever so encroach up to my neck while my body has already been covered entirely. My solemn eyes still staring on, towards the void as I become more and more devoid of emotion. My mouth slightly open, I mumble silently in the void.

"El...Sword...Ai...Sha...Re...na...Ra...ven...Add...Hel...Putt...Fa...ther...E...ve...A...ra..."

My eyes open up a little more.

"A...ra..."

I whisper her name slowly as the chains wrap finally wrap around my head. The Chains of Death. My mouth is glued shut as it loops around. My eyes close on their own as the chains proceed to loop around my head even more. Static fills my eyesight as my eyes are chained closed. Only the sound of white noise fills my ears as I now stare into static.

"F...l...n...G...d...n.."

"L...st...n...t...m...w...rds.."

"A...k..n...Chung."

Suddenly, the chains shatter into fragments. The feeling in my chest worsens as something begins to tear itself out of my soul. The sounds of my screaming are now audible as the object tears itself out inch by inch. Blood splatters into the dark void as it finally releases itself from my body. A small, orange, a light in the dark abyss of death. I slowly move my hand towards it to grab it, only to see the key move slowly forward to another object, an orange door; the door opens, revealing a piercing glow throughout the darkness. My body slowly drifts towards it, eventually getting inside. Inside- inside there was a red room. In the middle of it was a chair, a table, and a sofa. But most importantly, there was her.

"Ahohohoho~!" She giggled happily.

"Wh-what...?" I muttered in confusion.

"You've met such a terrible fate haven't you?" Ara grinned widely. "Having to sacrifice yourself after such a heartbreaking moment. You truly are someone to look up to, you know."

"Wh-where… am I?"

"Huhu~… Welcome to your soul!"

"My… soul?"

"Yes, the piece of your soul where I reside inside!" Ara stood up and spread her arms out. "This is the very part where you carved your happy memories with me into! A part of me now lives inside of you! As does a part of you and me that lived inside of all our friends! They-"

I quickly stood up and threw a punch at "Ara." The room began to crack and shatter as I made contact with her. "W-what...?" She blurted out in pain as she took a step back. The walls around us quickly crumbled as the facade falls apart, revealing _Me_. It stared at me as the world around us rumbled and quaked violently.

"Kheheh… You're not as much as a fool as you used to be… You wished for strength, yes? The power I wield is the answer to your wish. Accept the darkness within you and become a god!" It grinned sadistically as it raised a hand out towards me. The floor between quickly separated as the world broke apart. I stared into the deep insanity that is myself as a terrified look surfaced upon my face.

I quickly open my eyes to see a lamp looming over me. As I quickly looked around, I noticed that I was on a surgical table. Several chains were wrapped around my body. Numbness came over me as I tried to move my hands and legs around. Footsteps could be heard moving closer and closer to my side. Turning my head to my right, I see a demon looming over me. A demon with spikes on his head and a lab coat.

"Ah, so the girl has awakened! Khahaha!" He cackled out loud.

"Wh-where… am I?" I strained my voice as I struggled to speak.

"You are in my lab. It is such an honor to have such a being with a supply of dark energy as big as yours in here! I was quite astonished to see you appear washed up beside a broken gate to hell!" He chuckled. "Ah, but I digress. Your equipment was in horrible shape."

"Why… am I here?"

"Oh? I just couldn't help but bring you into my lab! But don't be so bitter, after all, it was I, Joaquin, the chemical genius that brought you back to life! Khahahah!"

"Everything feels numb… I can't move..." I muttered as I tried to move my arms and legs once more.

"Ah? That so? You might be experiencing some minor paralysis! I have just the salve for that!" The demon quickly rushed to a table filled with various flasks and bottles. The cluttering of small, glass containers could be heard as he began to mix various chemicals together into one liquid. "Where is it..." He mumbled out loud as he shoved several potions away, shattering their contents on the ground. "Ah, there it is!" He shouted out loud as he grabbed a flask and emptied its contents into testing tube. Rushing towards me, he poured the liquid into my mouth. My muscles began to soothe as the potion began to take effect on my body. I sat up on the surgical table, immediately noticing the chains once again.

"Why… are there chains on me?"

"Hmm? Those? I've tried everything in my power to remove them. Strange thing is, they don't seem to be physically there. Almost as if its appearance is just a ruse or it's bound to your very soul."

"Where...is my armor?"

"Hoh? Oh yes, the armor you were wearing. The dark energy it is able to wield is profoundly powerful, yet it fails to actually harness that power. I personally took it upon myself to refurbish it in order for it to wield it correctly! Surprisingly, the stone it seemingly draws power upon rivals your own dark energy." He moves his hand towards a corner of the room. In said place, was my Freiturnier and destroyer. The both of them had changed a bit more than when I had last seen them. Freiturnier's white plating had taken on an ashen gray while its blue guardian stone and outlines had taken a sinister bright orange. My eyes move to the side to look at my destroyer, which had its white plating turned into a similar grey. "What's even more surprising though, is that I discovered that you are another Guardian, just like the other one. Even my mind cannot even begin to comprehend how a human such as yourself had attained this power."

"The other one?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, the one that we managed to corrupt and added to our forces… it's such a shame that those pesky humans managed to save them..."

"Well… then." I said as I slowly got myself off of the surgical table. "I need to be going now, Joaquin. I'll be seeing you whenever, I guess." I grabbed Freiturnier, my destroyer, and stepped towards the exit as I waved Joaquin off with my hand while putting them on. "Where do you think you're… going?" I came to a sudden stop as I heard this. Turning my head around, I see Joaquin with an annoyed look on his face. "I've got business I need to take care of." I said as I waved him off once more.

"..." "...Very well. But I suggest that you come back another time when you seem... less occupied." The alchemist said as he turned back and went to his work, grumbling to himself.

 _Dark… energy? Fallen Guardian? I don't recall ev- That's it! I was drawing power from that container of dark energy… Does that mean I've been corrupted? I don't feel corrupted. I think I still have my words and reasoning, unlike when my father was corrupted…_ An image flashed in my head. It was… _me_. _No, it couldn't be me...I'm not twisted. He was holding his hand out towards me with a smile that could rival Add's insanity… Add! Where's Add?!_

* * *

The trees slowly swayed back and forth as the night began to progress more and more. A faint spark of purple electricity could be seen in the middle of a familiar forest clearing. It continued to spark, more and more, eventually becoming so violent that the world seemingly began to shake. A tear in the air could be seen getting bigger and bigger. It slowly tears itself open, and from the inside, a white haired man in a strange suit stumbles out, gasping for air.

"Haah...haah...hah..."

He clutched the grass tightly with his hands as he continued to breathe heavily. Add raised his head towards the group of trees a few yards away from him. He didn't smile or grin like he normally would after something strange or miraculous happened. A look of fear and despair clouded his face as he slowly got back up to his feet.

"Dynamo… Report..." Add swished his hand to the side, two dynamos came to the front of him as the other four stayed to the side, struggling to power themselves.

 _{Status report}_  
 _Damaged sustained: 96.98%_  
 _Repairs needed immediately._  
 _(4) Out of (6) Dynamos have switched to Power Saver._  
 _(2) Out of (6) functioning at lower than average capabilities._  
 _Life Support: Functioning at estimated 30% health._  
 _Alert:_  
 _Seal of Time was activated approximately 5.67 minutes ago._  
 _Seal of Time accuracy was at 33.33 when activated._  
 _Unable to ascertain whether or not this is at the correct time and place._

"No… no..." Add frantically shouted out another command. "Show me the timeline we're in!"

 _{Status Report}_  
 _Timeline is confirmed to be set as "1"._

Add sighed in relief as he heard that. There was no way in hell he'd be jumping through timelines once again, in this state. It would take him months to find the correct one with only a third of his dynamos working, just like it took him the last time. Now, that he'd gotten that sorted out, he'd just have to do one thing before proceeding. Regroup with his comrade.

* * *

Elesis trudged through the forests slowly as she thought to herself. _Perhaps_ , she thought, _I could regroup with Elsword and fight the demons back together._ The girl tapped the bottom of her chin longingly. She'd no idea how she'd get there without encountering plenty of demons on the way. Surely she'd be able to handle them as long as they came in short groups instead of an army. She knew herself enough that she could handle groups of 7 or 8 alone. Rustling of nearby bushes broke her train of thought as she came to a clearing in the forest. The red haired knight looked around in a panic, desperately trying to locate the exact location. Shocked, her eyes widened immediately as the ground around her shook violently, knocking her onto her back. Slowly she sat back up, only to see around 50 or so lights in the distance. The forest began to echo the shouting and snarling of demons all around the poor Free Knight. Standing up, she readied herself and her claymore for the walking hell quickly approaching her.


	16. A Changed Past

_Chnnnk!_ The Red-haired Knight's blade quickly deflected an arrow. The girl quickly slashed down a demon to the left of her. The area around her was filled to the brim with the light of torches and fire. A demon quickly charges at Elesis with its spear, narrowly driving its weapon into the girl's chest. The Free Knight quickly replies with a swift decapitation. The blood splatters across the ground around them and Elesis' breastplate. The cluttering of armor could be heard as the fallen demon is replaced with three more, much to the girl's dismay. _They just keep on coming!_ She thought to herself, _it won't end!_ The Free Knight quickly slashes down another demon approaching from the back of her while narrowly avoiding another arrow. Her breath begins to deteriorate quickly as time passes on, the hordes seemingly infinite. The field quickly becomes covered in blood as the bloodshed continues. Elesis quickly drops down onto one knee, claymore in hand. She knew that she wouldn't be able to last at this rate, she dare not think of what would happen then. Parrying an incoming strike from a sword, she jumps backwards.

"Wild Shock!" She shouts out as she flings a wave of fire from her sword into the horde of demons, incinerating dozens of them as it drives through a cluster. Much to her dismay, even more demons come in to fill the gap. The Poor Free Knight dodges a wave of dark energy hurled at her by a demon sorcerer, only to be hit by a second and third spell. Grasping her Claymore ever so tightly, she retaliates with a swift slash to one of the spell casters, only to be shield bashed into a nearby tree. Blood spills out of Elesis' mouth as she is slammed into the trunk of the tree. Writhing in pain, she peers out into the ever advancing horde.

Suddenly, an explosion rings throughout the area. The ground shakes ever so violently as a huge chunk of the horde is flung into the air effortlessly. From the smoke, comes a figure clad in a strange suit, surrounded by 6 floating objects. Four of which were hanging back behind him. "Such a damn nuisance..." The man mutters out as he raises his hand outwards towards the rest of the horde, instantly decimating more of their ranks.

The man thought to himself that, he would've been in his part of the timeline, instead of appearing in a stranger timeline where demons seem to roam and attack casually. A world where demon armies have seemingly managed to take most of Elrios. The very thought made him angry, no- infuriated. "Particle Accelerator!" The man scowls as another massive chunk of the forces are torn apart. He thought of these forces quite weak compared to what he were used to. Perhaps they've not been properly trained like the other ones. But, he thought to himself, it does feel quite gratifying just decimating a dozen of them in this state.

Inspecting the carnage left by his weapons, he notices the blood drenched girl slumping down beside a tree. He slowly trudged over to see that the girl was breathing in fact, still healthy. Begrudgingly as he stared deep into the girl's fearful eyes, he lowered a hand to help the girl back on to her feet.

"Just… who are you?" Elesis mutters out, still fearful of the strange, but powerful man.

"Tell me, kid. Who are you?" The man immediately interrupts, continuing to stare at her.

"I'm… Elesis." She says as she grasps her claymore once more.

"Should've figured." The man cackles as hears her, unnerving Elesis even more.

"I'm looking for a comrade of mine, he's not too hard to spot. Perhaps you've met someone in hulking armor, wielding what appears to you as a great, giant slab of iron?" He questions intently while lowering himself slightly to see her eye to eye, his horrific grin seemingly never fading.

"N-no… I'm afraid not. But, I'm looking for my sibling-"

"Elsword, was it? Ah, yes, yes. He's most likely trekking between Elder and Bethma at this point. Ah yes, where ARE we right now?" He interrupted once more.

"How di-"

"Where ARE we right now?" The man's grin instantly faded as he asked once more.

"We're… between Bethma and Altera right now…"

"Perfect! If I'm guessing correctly, my comrade should be somewhere around those three locations right now. Now, if you were to accept having me on your journey to meet your egg-headed sibling, I'm QUITE sure I'd be of GREAT help."

Elesis takes a step back, unnerved even more. _How did he know these things?_ she thought. _But nonetheless, he managed to decimate that group of demons like Childs play._ _The journey would certainly be much easier…_ But then again, how did he know her brother? How did he know where he would be right now? These things puzzled the Red haired Knight to no end.

"Just… Who are you?"

* * *

Add fiddled with one of his dynamos. Contently, he continued to work on it while traveling with the Free Knight. Apparently, he knew he needed to repair them on his own, a trait which he learned while constantly hopping through timelines. While it itself wasn't that fun, he knew he'd have to do it at some point. So, he decided to get it out of the way to avoid complications in future usage.

The girl studied the man contently, ever wondering what the object he was fiddling with was. Perhaps it's some sort of machine he enchanted with a spell in order to make it float. It wasn't anything she'd seen until now, she knew that. He DID look like one of those magic types. Or perhaps she's just making those assumptions based on his sanity or lack of. Sorcerers eventually go insane when they lust for knowledge, right? The man's existence questioned her knowledge prior, completely baffling her with his strange objects.

"What… are those? Are they enchanted by a spell?"

"Hmm?! Of course not, nothing like a spell could create such a great device like these dynamos! Have you ever seen a Nasod?!" The man snapped angrily.

"Nasod?" A Nasod? She thought to herself. Oh, of course! They're the machine things that appear in groups ever so often during her journeys.

"Ah... yes, yes I have!"

"These were made using their technology." The man gestured towards the other 5 floating objects while simultaneously working on the one in his hands.

"Where did you learn to make those?"

"Books." He said bluntly.

The conversation then ceased to exist.

* * *

Perhaps, it wasn't such a good idea to split up. Raven doubted Elsword's choice as he parried another attack from a nearby horde of demons. It was quite unwanted to have such a great horde pushing him back further into the woods behind him. Rena was providing support from atop the trees, but still. It just didn't feel like it was enough. The swordsman sighed as he deflected another arrow away from him. He rushed forward, almost recklessly, slashing his sword at a the front layer of demons in front of him, killing off only a few before being pushed back once again. He'd need more allies to charge in with him to push them back instead, but as he'd known, he didn't have any except Rena. Yes, of course he'd need more allies. That was what he needed, wasn't it? He'd always trump his enemies with his fellow mercenaries, but this wasn't the case. He strayed from that path, only seeking to change his old ways.

"Berserker Blade!" The ground shook as he slammed his sword down onto a cluster of enemies. The numbers looked like they were thinning out slightly, but only slightly. He was still getting pushed back further and further, but he felt as if the pushes were getting weaker and weaker as he continued to slash down more enemies. The swordsman glanced up towards the trees a few meters in front of him. Demons were getting pinned down by the dozens as arrows rained upon them almost endlessly. Rena seemed like she was doing most of the work, which he was slightly disturbed by. Raven grunted in unsatisfaction as he charged towards the horde again, only this time, going through the front layer and deeper into the core.

This wasn't exactly a good idea. He was having some difficulty parrying from all sides of him, perhaps even struggling more than he thought he would. The sound of agony echoed throughout the forest as he is caught off-guard by a shield bash from his blind spot. Raven quickly retaliated by counterattacking with a swift slash to his right, bringing his slain counter to around to what he guessed to be 23 or so. Through the crowds, screaming could be heard as Raven glanced through the horde to see something of gigantic proportions charging towards him, flinging demons to the right and left.

The swordsman quickly ducked beneath the giant's sword as it swung it horizontally towards him, decimating its allies in front of it. This giant was clad in armor as dark as the very night it appeared it, its armor illuminated by the thousands of torches held by the demons surrounding it. The sword, or giant slab of metal made to resemble a sword, was almost as big as itself, stretching almost up to the giant's head. Yes, this was familiar to Raven, as it looked quite similar to the one that sent him flying into a tree trunk two years ago. Raven's eyes widened in shock as he remembers this painful memory. Staggered from the remembrance of said painful memory, he gets knocked into a tree trunk once again by a swing of the Iron Giant's sword. Peering up, he sees the tree swaying left and right, scattering leaves across the forest floor. The ground gives off a hard thud as Rena drops down in front of Raven with her Erendil unsheathed.

Yes-yes, this was all too familiar to him. Him getting knocked into a tree trunk by a walking suit of armor with a gigantic sword and Rena rushing to his side while inside a forest. Except this time, the giant was after him with an army ready to kill him and Rena.

* * *

The moon illuminates the area around Chung as he crept through the forest, silently. The Iron Paladin stared up at the moon longingly and reaches out his hand almost to grab it out of its position. Leaves around him casually fell down and traveled around on the wind, crunching under his feet as some of them land on the ground in front of Chung's path. Perhaps this wasn't making any sense. Perhaps, the chains wrapped around him that seemingly phased through Freiturnier as he put it on, were meant to signal something. Bound- it signaled he was bound to something. Bound to life or bound to death? Perhaps it was symbolism for his guilt and regrets, but they were nowhere to be found as he walked through the path of redemption for his failure to save and protect the people he loved. He raised his hand up to one of the chains, surprised to be able to grab it as the alchemist had said it wasn't physically there. Perhaps it was- for him, at least.

Did Add have the very same chains he did? He should have, from the fact that he was there with him during the explosion. If not, then the chains are stranger than he ever thought.

 _Clink._ A sound became audible as he traveled deeper into the forest. _Clank._ Chung rushed forward as the sounds became louder and louder. As he rushed into a clearing, quickly putting on his helmet, he sees a large army of demons on the other side. From inside, he could see a sliver of green moving about the dreary grey armors. Rena, he thought as he widened his eyes in shock. He needed to get in there, he decided. Holding his destroyer horizontally with both of his hands, he rushed inside, plowing waves of demons in his way. Quickly switching from his charging attack to a spinning attack, he whirlwinds around the forest clearing, sending demons flying into the trees.

 _Thunk._ His hurricane of pain is stopped by something large. The Iron Paladin peers up to the Iron Giant drawing back his sword once more for another strike. Seizing his opportunity, Chung bashes his destroyer into the Iron Giant's chest, staggering it in its wake. Slamming it into the hulking suit of armor once more, the Iron Giant is knocked down onto the ground. The crushing of metal could be heard as Chung wails onto it violently, bending and breaking the dark steel chassis. As he continues to slam his destroyer onto his foe, Chung's eyes widen in shock as he feels a stirring from within his heart. A gloomy feeling- A dark feeling, a feeling that amplified his motivation to kill and decimate the Iron Giant until it was only a fine sand. "Lunatic Blow!" The Iron Paladin seizes up in pain, before quickly speeding up his pace. The earth trembled violently as he began to slam and bash the Iron Giant even faster and harder in pain. Unknownst to Chung, a familiar dark aura begins to envelope Chung as he pounds the giant again and again, until he stopped, gasping for air. His muscles sore, the Iron Paladin peers over to the side, to see a trembling Rena grasping a sword in fear. More to the side, he sees the remaining demons fleeing deeper into the forest.

Calming down, he slowly walks towards the two. Rena's legs refused to move, frozen in fear. To Chung's surprise, she collapses onto her knees, staring ever longingly at the Iron Paladin as if she'd seen death himself.

"R-rena..." Raven slowly mumbles as he raises his hand towards her.

He approached Rena and stared at her in confusion. So, I'm in the past once again, he thought. Chung's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed a change in the two's appearances. The two of them… didn't look like what he remembered. Rena was clutching a short, thin sword in her hands. Staring over at Raven, he was wearing a sort of jacket. Shaking his head, he quickly asked a question.

"Are you two okay?"

"E-eh...?" Rena stutters uncomfortably.

"It seemed a bit foolish to go after a small army without the others. You two could have got yourselves killed." Rena continued to stare fearfully at Chung as he talked on. "Is there something wrong?" Rena shook her head and quickly asked, "Just… who are you?" My eyes widen in surprise as I quickly remembered that I had my helmet on. "I've met all of you before you know. I'm no stranger." I said as I quickly lifted my helmet off my head. Rena's eyes widened in surprise. "S-Sei?!" She stumbled back in shock. "N-no! It can't be you! She h-hadn't been filled with so much dark energy!" My eyes wander over to Raven. He had the same dumbfounded but fearful expression. "A lot of things happened, you know." I responded calmly as I lowered my head. "S-stay away!" She screamed out as she began to tremble even more violently, grabbing Raven for comfort. The bushes next to us began to rustle wildly as her scream began to echo throughout the forest.

"YAAAAARGH!" A familiar red headed boy with a pony tail rushes out from the bushes, wielding two swords.

"Mega Sla-Eeeehh?!" He stops in his wake in surprise.

"Elsword, stop rushing ahead god damnit!" A high pitched voice could be heard right before a purple haired magician appeared before us. Elsword?! Chung's eyes widened as he noticed that Elsword looked different as well. Then, that must be Aisha… Peering over to Aisha, he realized that she had changed as well. Eve appeared next, sporting a strange haircut, accompanied by two strange nasod-like figures. Suddenly, two more familiar looking figures appeared, it was the younger version of me, fortunately looking similar to how I was in the middle of my path, sporting medium length hair accompanied by a black haired girl, Ara. She herself seemingly hadn't changed from how I first met her. Lazily emerging from the bushes, was Add angrily dusting himself off. The tracer had the very same dislike of dirt and grime he had in the future.

I take a step back in shock as my eyes lay upon the group. Most of them turned out different from what they were in the future. Perhaps they changed because of Add and I or because they changed out of necessity, due to the demons appearing earlier than expected.

"S-Sei?! Is that you?" My eyes turn towards a surprised Chung. "What are you doing here?!"

My heart began to ache painfully as I almost fell onto my knees. I quickly used my destroyer as support as I raised my head to gaze towards the group once more. Ara was certainly fearful of me, like the others besides Chung.

"She's… she's giving off the same feeling as my brother… she… she's a demon!" She screamed in fear.

 _There. It's there again. She called me a girl._

"What?! Of course not, Sei's not a demon!" Chung shouts back.

"Chung, look at her. I can sense a powerful dark energy from her."

"N-No! That's a lie! Sei's strong! Stronger than my father! She wouldn't let herself get corrupted!"

 _He's forgotten as well?!_

"Aisha's right. I sense the Dark El resonating from her." Eve chimes in.

 _Eve too?!_

"Same here." Add spat.

Tired of the yelling, Elsword gripped his swords and charged towards the older Chung, screaming.

"Mega Slash!" He screamed out in unison with another voice.

His blade made contact with another one- a fiery claymore. The explosion rang throughout the area, sending Elsword flying back to his original position.

"Wh-what?! Who are you?! Show yourself!" The Sheath Knight shouted out in anger. As the smoke cleared, a figure could easily be seen. A girl in red wielding a giant claymore almost akin to Elsword's blade. "Sis?! What are you doing here?!" Elsword sputtered out in confusion. The girl shouted out to seemingly nobody.

"This the one?"

A tear in reality could be seen as it began to crack and shatter. From within, was an unhappy Add climbing out. "Yeah, he's the one."

"Huh?! It's you!" Aisha shouted out in surprise.

"Add… add... add..." Chung tugged at the Diabolic Esper's sleeves. "Where are we...?" He whispered silently while staring up at the lunatic's wild eyes. "Eh? We're in the past of the very same timeline. It seems to have changed due to our interference." He mumbles out loud.

"Did she say… my name?" The tracer's eyes widened in confusion.

"It basically just means the group we knew no longer exists, and in their places is the new past's future selves. Fortunately, our two pasts seemingly remained on the same path."

"You... You! Tell me why Sei is like this! Why do the others say she's corrupted!? Tell me why!" The younger Chung shouted out desperately.

"Eh?" Add looked towards the younger Chung in confusion.

"Hold on a minute!" The younger Add shouted out angrily. "Just tell me who the hell are you?!"

"No, let him explain fir-" "To hell with that, I could care less about the woman, I need answe-" "No, you don't know what's happening right now! I need answers!" "Shut the hell u-"

"GOD DAMN IT! STOP THE GODS-DAMNED CHILDISH SHENANIGANS! I CAN'T EVEN F*CKING THINK!" Add shouted out angrily, quickly silencing the two's argument. "Alright, Chung, we're going to have to- Chung? Chung..? Chung!?"

The Iron Paladin's eyes begin to dim as he collapsed onto his knees, then onto the ground, with only the light of the moon flooding his eyes as he began to lose consciousness.

Light.

 **Then Darkness.**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **This has to be the longest chapter I've ever written for this story. I never thought I'd come up with this much.**

 **Update: 8/25/15**

 **I'm going to take a break for a while to gather my thoughts. Might not be able to post much due to the next incoming school year, sorry.**


	17. Dreams of Time and Space

_Chung sits at his desk, gingerly sipping a cup of coffee as he browses the web on his laptop. Looking over to the side, he smiles at the open screen door to the right of him and takes in nature. Taking another sip, he picks up a newspaper to his right and begins to read slowly as he continues through the morning. The birds begin to si- **Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!**_

 _Chung's eyes widen as the phone begins to ring violently. His eyes wander towards the phone, his hand following suit as he picks it up._

 _"H-Hello?"_  
 _"What? It's already over?"_  
 _"Are you sure?! I mean… it's pretty nice out right now an-"_

 _Yelling could be heard from the phone as Chung moves his head back to avoid bursting his eardrums._

 _"A-Alright..." He sighed in disappointment as he stands up from his chair. "Time to get back to business..."_

* * *

"They… cease to exist?" Chung mumbled to himself as he floated through the abyss once more. He didn't like how things had turned out. He didn't like how he was told how his friends that he knew and loved no longer existed. But, if that was true, they why do the memories still remain in his mind? Why don't the figures just fade and disappear? Surely he wouldn't remember who they were if such a thing had happened. The Iron Paladin felt a sudden stop in his trajectory as his mind began to re-evaluate his position. Staring upwards, Chung saw the abyss turning into a dark blue. It began to glow vibrantly as it began to banish the darkness. A masked figure could be seen sitting on a dark blue throne as the Iron Paladin came to a sitting position. The man placed his hand on chin as the both of them continued to stare at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Oh? Is my face that intriguing to you? Kukuku..."

"E-eh...?"

"Is my face really that interesting for you to continue to stare at it? Ah, never mind about your strange affection to me; what are you doing here?"

"I… don't know.

"That so? You are a strange one, indeed. One does not simply stumble into here, you know. Anyhow, welcome to Henir's Time and Space."

Chung quickly turned his head to see that they were on a giant, black cube with a luminescent, blue outline. Shifting his view even further, he saw similar cubes floating in the distance. As he stared into the deep, dark blue, he immediately shifted concerns onto the man himself. "W-who... are you?"

"..." The man's eyes widen as he hears Chung, a look of shock cluttering upon his face. "Truly, you do not remember me? You and your friends used to past by me almost every day." The man extends his hand out in disbelief.

"I'm… afraid not."

"I am Glave, Administrator of Henir's Time and Space." Glave sighed in disappointment.

"Who?"

Glave stared back in annoyance as he stood up from his throne. The masked man began to walk towards Chung, with the look of interest radiating from his eyes. Slowly, he began to pace around Chung, almost as if he were inspecting him. The Iron Paladin's eyes follow Glave around uncomfortably as he crossed his arms. Stopping in a few feet in front of Chung after circling him, Glave placed his hands behind his back.

"You are quite an interesting Human. At first, I had thought another Demon had snuck in here. A powerful one, at that; But not powerful enough to cause me any trouble in this realm. Kukukuku... "

"How are you feeling right now? Surely the Dark Energy within you is causing you some stress, is it not? Normally such a human would feel grave effects from having such Dark Energy stored inside them. The Gloom in their heart would have consumed them entirely, by now. But how long would you last...? Kukuku..."

"I don't know what you're ta- Nngh!" Chung collapses onto one of his knees as he grasps his eye in pain. The feeling of something hell bent on tearing itself out of his eyeball made him scream loudly as he seizes up and draws his hand back in pain. Blood was leaking out of his right eye as dark energies began to pour out of his crevices between his eye and eye sockets. Howling in pain, Glave stood back with his arms crossed in satisfaction.

"Amazing… You've managed to suppress the effects until recently. What will happen to your body now? But the real question is, how long will it take until it fully consumes you? Kukuku…"

Chung had never felt such excruciating pain before in his life. The others seemed like push-overs compared to what he was experiencing. Almost as if his soul was attempting to rip itself from his very being, leaving only a shallow husk behind, the dark energies continued to squeeze itself out of his eye.

* * *

Chung sat up from the couch, screaming in fear as the pain woke him up. Aisha stood back in shock as she saw the older Chung rise from his slumber so violently. Rushing into the room, the Diabolic Esper and Tracer saw the Iron Paladin wrap his arms around himself as he continued to wail like a banshee.

"What the hell is happening over here?!" Elsword bursts in after the older Add with Raven and Elesis, sword drawn and all. "Did something happen?!" Rena shouted out as she came from the Kitchen with Chung, Eve, and Ara.

Slowly, the screaming began to stop. Chung's heartbeat began to slow down as he himself began to snap back into reality. His breathing began to set itself back to a stable pace as the Iron Paladin's eyes shifted to look around the room. He was surprised to see himself in a large room with his armor still equipped and his ashen, gray destroyer next to the door with a similar white one.

"Oi, the hell's up with you?" The older Add remarked as he kneeled down besides his friend. Chung was obviously not faring well with life right now. He feared that he might be consumed by the dark energy he absorbed from a foolish choice. Placing his hands on the sides of his head, he shook his head in confusion.

"Oi." The Diabolic Esper chimed out in annoyance as he placed both of his hands on the Iron Paladin's shoulder, only to step back in surprise and horror as he realizes a sudden change. "The hell happened to your eye?" He said as his expression changed to confusion as he begins to peer right at the older Chung's right eye. The Iron Paladin's view quickly shifted to the right to see a long mirror stood up against a wall; Inside, his mouth opened in terror as he sees that his right eye had a taken a sinister orange color. Trembling, he gingerly placed his hand on said eye in sadness as he began to whimper quietly. He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have used the container's energy to defeat Eun- But he had no choice. The Iron Paladin was forced to use it, or else he and Add would die to the hands of traitor.

As the Iron Paladin turned his head to face the Diabolic Esper, the older Add seemingly saw a wide, wicked grin on Chung's face for only a split second. "What happened?" He said as he placed his hand on the couch cushion to try and stand up.

"You passed out. Again." The older Add sighed as his expression turned sour.

"That so? It's been happening way too often, has it? Hehe." The older Chung cracked. The room fell into silence as the two stopped talking, all of them staring at each other awkwardly.

"A-anyway..." The Tracer coughed. "Who are you?" The boy said as he pointed at the older version of himself. "Me? Why are you so intent on finding out?" The older Add said as he brushed off the boy's question. "You can't hide it from me. Who do you think I am?" The Tracer said angrily as he stepped forward towards the Diabolic Esper. "A fool who should stop going after the past." The older Add said as he scowled back at the young boy. "What did you say?!" The younger Add fumed angrily as he waved his hand to command his dynamos.

"Add!" Aisha barked to stop Add from attacking.

The Fury Guardian to the side stepped in as he walked up to the Diabolic Esper. "W-what happened to Sei?" He stuttered uncomfortably, still uneased to the unstable man's presence.

"Huh? So, you want to know about what happened, then?"

The young boy nodded fearfully.

"Well, let's just say we almost got killed by a certain powerful demon. This fool chose the last resort and decided to use a nearby container's dark energy to destroy it, and the demon realm with it." Add said as he motioned to his now dark plated comrade.

Everyone but Elsword stood back in shock as they heard the story.

"That explains why Sei's been emitting so much dark energy earlier!" Aisha said.

"But… Is she going to be fine?" The Fury Guardian said with worried expression.

"Beats me. But from the looks of it now, it's having an effect on his physical appearance." The Diabolic Esper slowly gestured back towards the Iron Paladin's right eye.

"Destroy the demon realm? That's absurd! They're still swarming us like crazy!" The sheathe knight barked back angrily.

Add sighed in annoyance. "If you've already forgotten, then it was our future timeline's demon realm, not the current one. Yours is still intact."

"Then why are you here?!" The Tracer said impatiently. "No, forget about that, what was the nonsense about timelines?! Are you saying you have the ability to go to the past and future?" The boy's eyes widened in fascination.

"I'm getting REAL tired of your rabble, kid." The older Add said as he picked up his younger self by his shirt. The Diabolic Esper's sclera quickly turned black as he stared deep into the child's eyes angrily. "Let the past go. If you don't and actually manage to create the technology like me, the 'error' won't be able to be fixed!" He shouted in disgust. "What the hell are you saying?!" The Tracer scowled back angrily as he tried to break free of his older self's grip. "IF YOU DON'T INPUT THE COORDINATES MANUALLY, YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK! IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL SEE VERSIONS OF YOURSELF THAT HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED THE 'ERROR'!" He tightened his grip even more so, stretching the grabbed cloth. "WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD STICK WITH YOUR COMRADES TO THE END AND ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW!" The Diabolic Esper threw the Tracer to the ground angrily as his younger self's expression turned from anger, to fear. Silenced, the Tracer crawled a few feet backwards in defeat.

"C-Could it be?! Y-you're… me from the future?!" He shrieked.

"What?! Am I too twisted to be your future self?! Is it TOO much for you?!"

The Diabolic Esper sighed in disgust as he began to calm down. The room grew silent once more.

"Where are we, right now?" The Iron Paladin said, to break the silence.


End file.
